Eze, Okpor shine with three gold medals in Calabar

Best Okpor had a stellar performance at the Grand Finale of MTN CHAMPS Season 2 in Calabar, claiming an impressive three individual gold medals on the final day of competition.

The Team MVP athlete, who previously secured gold in the Long Jump, shaved over a second off his personal best (PB) in the Cadet Boys’ (U14) 400m heats, clocking 56.13s to clinch victory. He held off fellow Team MVP Ismail Hassan, who took silver in 56.51s, while Chinedu Progress rounded out the podium with bronze in 59.25s.

Minutes later, Okpor doubled down with a win in the 200m, finishing in 25.18s (-0.4). He comfortably led Muhammed Nura (25.95s) and Ismail Hassan (25.98s), who secured his second medal of the day with a bronze.

In the Girls’ 400m race, Praise Ugwushita took control early and maintained her lead, winning in 61.04s. God’smind Eteng claimed silver with a time of 61.98s, while Hephzibah Okon finished third with a bronze in 62.05s.

Ejiro Peter, after taking silver in the 100m, bounced back in the Cadet Girls’ 200m final. Establishing an early lead and maintaining her form, she secured gold in 26.53s. Ella Udumubrai (27.03s) finished second, and Karo Onisuru (27.19s) took bronze.

Benjamin Magaji pushed hard in the first half of the Youth (U17) Boys’ 400m, but Michael Aniche’s patient tactics paid off as he surged past him in the final meters to win gold in 50.58s. Magaji’s efforts were rewarded with a silver medal and a new personal best of 51.48s, while Emmanuel Obi finished third in 51.70s.

Aniche continued his dominance, chasing down Kehinde Ojo to claim his second gold in 23.49s (-0.8), narrowly beating Ojo who finished with silver in 23.51s. Benjamin Magaji rounded out the podium with a time of 23.94s.

Team MVP’s Success Okoro dominated the Youth (U17) Girls’ 400m race, winning in a commanding 57.33s. She led a 1-2 finish with Believe Oghenevwegba, who secured silver in 58.95s, while Angel Eteng settled for bronze in 59.73s.

Gafar Badmus proved unstoppable in the Junior Men’s 400m, powering to victory in 47.94s. He was followed by Victor Sampson (48.89s) and Edidiong Ime Udotong (50.11s) who claimed silver and bronze respectively. Notably, Badmus already held the MTN CHAMPS record for the Junior category with his incredible 47.50s run at the Ibadan leg.

Adaeze Eze added to her impressive record, securing her 11th gold medal across two seasons of the School Championships. Clocking 25.44s (-0.5), she took the Youth Girls 200m title. Chiamaka Lucy Nwankwo, who led for most of the race, had to settle for silver in 25.49s, while Dorcas Ogundipe finished third in 26.28s.

The 200m Junior Women’s race saw Faith Osamuyi complete the double, clocking 24.05s (-0.5) ahead of an inspired Chigozie Rosemary Nwankwo (24.71s) and Kate Odumoso (25.04s).

Precious Nzeakor dominated the Senior Women’s field, running a personal best of 23.48s (-1.7) to defeat 100m champion Blessing Ogundiran (24.86s) and Janet Adesiyan (24.90s).

Caleb John reversed positions with Tejiri Godwin in the Junior Men’s 200m, clocking 21.91s (-0.3) to Godwin’s 22.19s, who had previously beaten him in the 100m.

Hope Okoro took the Senior Men’s race in 21.74s (-0.1), followed by Anyadiegwu Kenechukwu (21.99s) and Olabode Toviho (22.41s) who secured second and third place respectively.

The Cadet Girls 4x100m saw FPS Academy emerge victorious with a time of 52.96s, beating Team MVP (53.03s) and Government Girls School (53.21s).

Team MVP found redemption in the Boys’ race, winning by a significant margin in 50.08s. The quartet of Darius Odebiyi, Paul Olaoluwa, David Ekunwe, and Best Okopor dominated the Baptist Vocational team (52.44s) and Police Secondary School (58.65s) who finished second and third respectively.

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Their dominance continued in the Youth category, with the Girls’ team running 51.08s to beat Abua Government (52.03s). The Boys’ team clocked 45.70s, narrowly beating Baptist Vocational (46.07s), who were buoyed by their star athlete Michael Aniche.

Akwa Ibom outperformed Team MVP A to claim gold in the Junior Women’s (U20) 4x100m, while the MVP B team secured victory over MVP A in the Men’s race with a time of 42.08s compared to the latter’s 42.57s.

Arena Academy dominated the Senior Women’s 4x100m, clocking 46.66s, nearly 10 seconds ahead of Nigerian Customs (55.25s) who finished second.

D’Victors took the Men’s race with a time of 41.60s, followed by Akwa Ibom (42.08s) and Golden Eagle (42.54s).

The Grand Finale of Season 2 concluded with the Mixed 4x400m race, won by Wesley Comprehensive in 3:31.18, a full five seconds ahead of Team MVP A (3:36.57) and the B team (3:40.95).