Day 2 of the MTN Champs Uyo Grand Final at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium continued to deliver excitement, with young athletes setting personal records and dazzling spectators with standout performances in track and field events. The championship, which brings together 2,187 competing athletes, will run until May 9.
One of the standout performances came from Chukwuma Faith of Osadenis Mixed Secondary School, Asaba (Delta State), who sprinted to a new Personal Best of 12.08 seconds in a women’s junior U20 100m heat. After crossing the finish line with a clear lead, Faith stared in amazement at the race clock, soaking in the moment, a new personal best.
She recalled that she had clocked a 26.49 PB at her first MTN Champs race, a 200m u17, at the season 2 Champs Calabar. “I had just started athletics at that time. It was a very poor time for me. I kept that determination and kept training until I ran this today. I’m very happy because this is a big PB for me. I want to run a new PB at the semi-final.”
.In the senior men’s 100m preliminaries, Chidera Ezeakor, winner of the Champs Benin leg and runner-up to Favour Ashe in Lagos, sprinted to the fastest overall time of the day with a blistering 10.35s, a new PB. He was followed by Glory Olokpa (10.44s) and Lucky Daje (10.47s).
In the women’s race, Kate Odumoso shaved five-hundredths of a second off her previous best from MTN Champs Benin, qualifying fastest overall with 11.55s. Close behind was Cynthia Chioma, who lowered her PB from 11.65s to 11.56s, while Sophia Efetobore clocked 11.65s to round out the top three.
The junior men’s 100m qualification heats also saw impressive showings, led by Williams Stephen, who clocked a PB of 10.77s. Team MTN’s Alvin Onyeama followed closely with a controlled 10.89s to win his heat, while Olerirume Righteous completed the top three.
It was a PB fest in the junior women’s 100m, where Team MVP’s Ejiro Peter, a returning athlete from Season 3’s Benin Athletics Classics, blazed to a new lifetime best of 11.89s, improving from her former mark of 12.17s. After the race, she shared: “I’m very excited to be here because being at MTN Champs is PB upon PB. I’m very excited about my performance. Being an MVP today is a great opportunity for me.”
Her teammate, Ufuoma Merit, wasn’t far behind, running a PB of 11.90s to win her heat. Perezide Sigah also impressed, clocking 11.94s, another PB.
In the men’s 400m hurdles, Emmanuel Salubi claimed victory ahead of Nsikak Okon Francis and Moses Eze. In the junior category, Possible Daniel triumphed over Endurance Favour and Goodluck Kabowei.
With medals already being awarded and the competition heating up, all eyes are on Day 3, scheduled for Thursday, May 8. The championship will conclude with six team trophies awarded and recruitment of top-performing athletes into the prestigious MoC academy, in what promises to be a thrilling grand final.