Athletes from the Making of Champions (MoC) Athletics Academy in Lagos, representing ‘Team MTN,’ made an impressive debut at the first leg of MTN CHAMPS Season 3, the Benin Athletics Classics.
The event took place from March 13th to 15th at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and the UNIBEN Sports Complex.
Team MTN fielded two Youths, nine Juniors, and four Seniors at the three-day competition, securing eight medals made up of two gold, three silver, and three bronze.
The team excelled in the Senior men’s and women’s 400m events. Benjamin Magaji clinched gold in the men’s race with a new Personal Best (PB) of 48.04s, improving on his previous PB of 48.23s set in the heats. Miracle Uwem Donald mirrored this success in the women’s race, winning gold with a time of 55.05s and finishing 5th in the 200m final with 25.04s.
Jane Onyeneho earned silver in the Senior women’s 200m final with 24.58s, after qualifying with 24.47s in the heats. Showers Ushie reached the 200m semifinals and anchored the Senior men’s 4x100m relay team to silver with a time of 41.63s.
In the Junior category, Ezekiel Asuquo set a new lifetime best of 47.46s in the men’s 400m final, finishing 4th. He also contributed to the Junior and Senior men’s 4x100m relays, winning silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Stephen Adejumo set PBs in the Junior men’s 200m and 400m, breaking 49s for the first time with a new PB of 48.99s in the 400m final. Emmanuel Obi competed in the Junior men’s 200m/400m and the Mixed 4x400m relay.
Patience Joseph achieved a Season’s Best (SB) of 58.30s in the Junior 400m final and a PB of 26.33s in the 200m heats. Toheebat Jimoh set new PBs in the Junior 200m (25.47s) and 400m (57.32s), making the finals in both events.
Sprinter Alvin Onyeama broke 11s twice in the Junior boys’ 100m, narrowly missing a medal with a 4th place finish but anchoring the Junior boys’ 4x100m squad to bronze. Emmanuel Oyewale set new PBs in the 100m and 200m, contributing to the men’s 4x100m relay.
Lucy Nwankwo reached the finals in the Junior women’s 100m and 200m, setting a new lifetime best of 24.84s in the latter. The Junior women’s 4x100m relay team, including Nwankwo, Azeezat Muhammed-Raji, and Mercy Ogbonna, secured silver with 48.29s.
Chizoba Onyemauwa set PBs in the Youth girls’ 200m (26.23s) and 400m (58.89s), winning bronze in the latter. Fervent Edet competed in the Youth boys’ 100m and 200m, posting times of 11.94s and 24.31s, respectively.
The relays contributed five medals to Team MTN’s haul. The Senior men’s 4x100m squad, comprising Ushie, Onyeama, Magaji, and Asuquo, won silver with 41.63s. The Junior men’s 4x100m team, anchored by Onyeama, took bronze with 42.91s. The Junior women’s 4x100m team claimed silver with 48.29s, and the Mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Obi, Adejumo, Joseph, and Jimoh secured bronze with 3:36.01.