2025 World Athletics Championships Qualifiers: Nigeria’s Men, Women Relay Teams At Risk

Nigeria is at risk of not featuring a men’s and women’s 4x100m relay team at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo after their unimpressive performance during the weekend.

Nigeria’s men’s relay team was in pole position to qualify for the World Athletics Championships as they were tied in 15th position with the same time of 38.20s with the Netherlands.

However, the Dutch team forced Nigeria down to the 16th spot, the last qualification slot for the championship.

The Netherlands achieved that at the European Team Championships in Madrid, where they put up a record-breaking performance. They clocked 37.87s, setting a new national record, championships record, and European lead.

The Dutch relay team included Nsikak Ekpo, Taymir Burnet, Xavi Mo-Ajok and Elvis Afrifa. They all executed a stunning baton exchange that gave their competitors no chance. At the end of the race, they emerged victorious over second-placed Germany (38.27s) and third-placed Great Britain (38.33s).

With this, the Dutch team stands a great chance of qualifying for the World Championships in Tokyo via the Time route.

Note that only 16 teams are expected at the World Athletics Championships relay events. The World Relays in Guangzhou have produced 14 of the teams, while the top performance table based on Time will produce the remaining two before August 27.

If teams like Brazil (38.40s), Jamaica (38.45s), Trinidad & Tobago (38.46s) or other nations improve their times in the coming months, Team Nigeria will be knocked out of the qualification.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay team are as good as out of the World Athletics Championships, except they perform exceptionally in the remaining events before August 27. They are currently placed 17th on the Time-based table with 42.70s. They need to overtake teams like Australia (42.48) and Ivory Coast (42.63) to grab one of the two qualification slots.

Both the men and women’s relay teams have the chance to improve their time in the following events: Nigerian Championships (July 31–August 2), the Togo Championships (August 9), the CAA Region II Championships in Ghana (August 15–16), and the Ghanaian Championships (August 21–22).