Team Nigeria’s hopes of advancing to the men’s 4x400m relay final at the Paris Olympics have been dashed following their disqualification.
The relay team, consisting of Emmanuel Ojeli, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Dubem Amene, and Chidi Okezie, achieved a Season’s Best time of 2 minutes 59.81 seconds in heat 2. France secured the victory with a time of 2 minutes 59.53 seconds, while Belgium claimed the third automatic qualification spot with a time of 2 minutes 59.84 seconds.
However, the Nigerian team was disqualified after one of their runners was found to have crossed lanes, causing a South African runner to trip. As a result, the spot initially won by Nigeria has been awarded to South Africa.
The Nigerian athletes were aiming to replicate the success of their predecessors who earned bronze in 1984, gold in 2000, and bronze in 2004 at the Los Angeles, Sydney, and Athens Games, respectively.