Nigeria’s hopes of competing in the relay events at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo suffered another blow in Accra, Ghana, as both the men’s and women’s 4x400m teams failed to qualify.
The men’s squad finished in 3:05.22, missing the qualifying standard of 2:59.12, while the women returned 3:33.83, also well outside the required mark. Ghana trailed Nigeria in both races, clocking 3:06.34 (men) and 3:46.63 (women).
The latest setback comes just a day after Nigeria’s 4x100m teams also fell short. Despite winning gold — the men in 39.74s ahead of Ghana (39.75s) and the women in 44.92s ahead of Burkina Faso (46.56s) — their times failed to meet the global cut-off standards of 37.87s (men) and 42.63s (women).
With the August 24 deadline looming, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) must now secure another qualifying opportunity. Otherwise, Nigeria risks missing out on the relay events at the World Championships for the first time since 1983.