Nigeria join Ghana to celebrate Olympic Games qualification despite 4x100m relay defeat

Team Nigeria put their second-place finish against longstanding rivals Ghana in the 4x100m relay behind them as they jubilated alongside their West African neighbours having both qualified for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Following a setback during the changeover on Day 1 of the World Relay Championship in the Bahamas, Ghana showcased resilience as they stormed to victory in Heat 2 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium in Nassau.

The victory was remarkable as they had to do it against Nigeria who had clinched Gold in the hands of Ghana in the 2023 African Games.

The Ghanaian quartet of Ibrahim Fuseini, Isaac Botsio, Benjamin Azamati, and Joseph Paul Amoah put themselves together to win record a Season’s Best time of 38.29s essentially qualifying them for the quadrenial events in France.

🇬🇭 Ghana’s men 4x100m relay team wins their heat with a time of 38.29s (SB) and have automatically qualified for the Olympic Games in Paris.#3Sports pic.twitter.com/IQfm3b74xm

— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) May 6, 2024

However, Nigeria, despite finishing second, a time of 38.57s was enough to take them through as well.

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As a result, they didn’t hide their joy as they joined in jubilating with Ghana in a scene of camaraderie and sportsmanship.

Ghana and Nigeria celebrated together after both relay teams booked places in the 2024 Olympic Games #3SportsGH pic.twitter.com/Az7JYVvtVb

— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) May 6, 2024

In the other heats, South Africa (38.08) and Liberia (38.65) also joined Ghana and Nigeria as African representatives at the 33rd Olympic Games.

Simbine turns on the jets 🚀

South Africa leads the Olympic Qualifying Round 2 in the men’s 4x100m as 6 teams qualify for @Paris2024 🙌

🇿🇦 38.08
🇬🇭 38.29
🇦🇺 38.46
🇩🇪 38.57
🇳🇬 38.57
🇱🇷 38.65#WorldRelays pic.twitter.com/0zJDgBKcPf

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 6, 2024

For team Ghana, it’s a moment for them as they hope to make amends for their impressive unlucky performance during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.

Having secured a national record, lane violation ruled them out of making a mark in the final.