It was an unlucky time for the Nigerian athletes on Friday at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, after both the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay teams failed to qualify for the finals of their respective events.
In a closely fought men’s semi-final, the Olympic champions Italy won with a time of 37.65 seconds. The Nigerian quartet of Favour Ashe, Usheoritse Itsekiri, Alaba Akintola, and Seye Ogunlewe set a new season’s best of 38.20 seconds, but it was not enough to secure a place in the final as they finished fifth.
Italy was inspired by their Tokyo individual gold medalist Lamont Jacobs, who ran a spectacular second leg.
South Africa finished second with a time of 37.71 seconds to also qualify. Britain overhauled Canada on the final leg to claim the third automatic qualifying spot, while the defending champions were eliminated.