Gafar Badmus and Miracle Sonny delivered outstanding performances on Friday to win the junior 400m finals at the MTN Champs Athletics Classics in Benin City.

Badmus set a personal best of 46.50s to dominate the junior men’s 400m. Eniola Shiro finished second in 47.18s, while David Akhalu secured third place in 47.40s.

In the junior women’s 400m, Sonny powered to victory in 53.91s, ahead of Victoria Olaniyi, 54.97s, and Success Okoro, who claimed third in 55.39s.

The senior men’s 400m final saw Team MTN’s Benjamin Magaji take gold in 48.04s. Bright Benson, 48.56s, and Emmanuel Baraburu, 48.63s, completed the podium.

Miracle Uwem won the senior women’s 400m in 55.05s, finishing ahead of Rita Munachiso, 55.34s, and Rhoda Adisa, 55.58s, in a closely contested race.

In the senior men’s 200m heats, two-time Olympian Emmanuel Ojeli clocked a Nigerian outdoor-leading time of 20.96s. Sophia Efetobore led the women’s category with 23.92s.

The senior men’s 100m final was a tight contest, with Chidera Ezeakor winning in 10.60s, just ahead of Jeremiah Nathaniel, 10.63s, and Daje Lucky, 10.66s.

Efetobore dominated the senior women’s 100m, crossing the line in 11.52s. Faith Osamuyi finished second in 11.62s, while Odumosu Kate secured third in 11.71s.

John Caleb claimed the junior men’s 100m title in 10.63s, with Abdulrahman Jimoh, 10.84s, and Wilfred Jimoh, 10.86s, finishing second and third, respectively.

Cynthia Chioma narrowly won the junior women’s 100m in 11.84s, edging out Success Oyibu, 11.86s, while Mmesoma Thankgod Ezeobi finished third.

In the cadet Under-14 category, Elom Kosi took the boys’ 100m title in 13.05s, while Ebimoboere Christopher won the girls’ race in 12.95s. In field events, Ibukun Daramola claimed gold in the senior men’s long jump with a 7.66m leap. Francess Ajagbawa won the junior women’s high jump with 1.65m.

The senior women’s discus final ended dramatically, as Emmanuella Kane edged Ruqqayah Kemi Mustapha by 0.01m, throwing a personal best of 40.31m to take gold.

Multiple records were broken, with fierce competition thrilling fans. The MTN Champs Classics continues, building anticipation for Saturday’s finale. Over 2,000 athletes are competing in Season 3 of the track and field fiesta, held at the University of Benin Sports Complex and Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.

(NAN)