April 05, (THEWILL) – Sixteen-year-old Fiaku Ezechichiri has been crowned the overall best at the recently concluded Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) All-Comers Under-18 to Under-20 athletics trials and competition in Kaduna.
Ezechichiri, who is the current national school athletics high jump champion, reached a new personal best of 2.05 metres, qualifying him to represent Nigeria at the African Youth Championship (AYC) later this year. Despite being the youngest competitor, he emerged as the winner in all three categories.
His coach, Johnny Igboka, led a seven-man team from Anambra to Kaduna and expressed his delight with the team’s performance after Ezechichiri’s display. Other team members, who competed in the competition included Eze Peace, who finished second and third in the female U-18 category of shotput and javelin events, respectively, and Chukwukere Gold, who finished fifth and sixth in the 400 metres and 800 metres U-18 categories, respectively.
Kenechukwu Nwabueze also surprised everyone by finishing third and fourth in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events, respectively. Igboka praised the Anambra Sports Development Commission, led by Patrick-Estate Onyedum, for ensuring their participation in all the invitations received in 2023, saying it was already yielding dividends in raising a generation of champions.
He described the event as a huge success that provided budding athletes with the opportunity to compete on a national scale and gain more exposure. The coach added that the team would intensify training to nurture these champions in the making.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
