By; Sunny Canto
With so much energy and shining weather in the Cross River State capital today as the athletes thrive for glory and podium finish, a Special Guest of honor arrived at MTN Champs in Calabar.
The deputy Governor of Cross River state, Peter Odey who declared the Season 4 of MTN Champs open, welcoming participants from all over Nigeria who have come to the city competing and vying for laurels.
However, the MTN Champs was exciting and thrilling as Days Two and Three promise to be more fascinating, with Team Nigeria chasing qualifications in all the 4x400m relays.
While targeting success in the future, Emmanuel Akolo steps on the track to run, he only needs to look at his spikes to be reminded of his destination and what his aims are.
Meanwhile, the SS2 student, Akolo knows that he would one day run sub 10s in the 100m and sub 20s in the 200m - inscribing a target of 9.93s (100m) and 19.95s (200m) on his spikes. Akolo also wrote down a Bible passage on his left shoe, another pool to draw inspiration from.
Nonetheless, we have to watchout for sensational Akolo in the Boy's 100m and 200m final at MTN Champs - Calabar; definitely he is made for the big stage.
Elsewhere, prodigy like Miracle Ezechukwu posted the fastest time overall in the Junior Girls’ 100m, clocking 11.67s into a -1.3m/s headwind. Her teammate Rosemary Chigozie followed closely in 11.89s with a -2.4m/s headwind while Team MTN’s Lucy Nwankwo was 3rd overall with a time of 12.22s. Ezechukwu’s performance also secured her qualification for the U20 World Championships set to be held in the US in August, 2026.
Moreover, in the Junior Boys’ 100m, Godwin Oghenerunor led the field with a time of 10.75s, ahead of Liberty Okon (10.97s) and Team MTN’s Alvin Onyeama as the Youth Girls’ category saw Miracle Festus Okon top the qualifiers in 12.26s, ahead of Glory Bassey (12.41s) and Team MTN’s Rebecca Enilolobo (12.55s).
On the Boys’ side, Team MTN’s Emmanuel Akolo dominated his heat in 11.50s to emerge as one to watch. Otobong Patrick (11.52s) and Nwabueze Kenechukwu (11.99s) followed as the next top qualifiers.
In the men’s 100m heats, Wisdom Alexander set the pace with 10.71s. Team MTN’s Showers Ushie ran 10.83s, while Nkereuwem Ibok (10.85s), Iwara Mathias (10.87s), and Emmanuel Ojeli (10.87s) also won their respective heats.
Amazingly, Ethiopia’s Merdekiyos Wolde Wachiso led the men’s 400m heats with a time of 47.20s. The Ethiopian team arrived with a 10-member delegation consisting of eight athletes and two officials, and they are expected to compete in the men’s and women’s 4x400m, as well as the mixed 4x400m relays. Team MTN’s Ezekiel Asuquo finished 2nd overall in the heats with 47.59s while Obashola Olaoluwa was 3rd with a time of 48.01s.
Team MTN’s Michael Aniche produced a huge Personal Best (PB) of 49.15s ahead of Mfoniso Bassey (49.36s), while Prosper Ushie won his heat in 49.68s to place third overall in the Junior Boys’ 400m heats.
The competition continues on Friday, March 6th, with the finals of the 100m and 400m to be decided, among other events
In conclusion, a colourful opening ceremony was held to declare the competition open, and had several dignitaries in attendance, including the Cross River Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey; Cross River State Commissioner for Sports Development, Hon. Agnes Atsu; MTN’s Chief Marketing Officer, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka; NSSF Vice President Emmanuel Ebong, and Technical Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Gabriel Okon, amongst others
