African Games: Nigeria Takes Gold Ahead of Ghana in Dramatic Photo Finish in Men’s 4x100m Showdown

• Nigeria edged Ghana in an exciting men's 4x100m relay at the 2023 African Games
• It was revenge for Nigeria, who lost out to their neighbours in Rabat five years ago
• They also did a number on Ghana in the women's event, courtesy of Tobi Amusan

In a thrilling showdown in the men's 4x100-meter relay, Team Nigeria outpaced their West African rivals, Ghana, by a margin of two microseconds to seize gold at the 2023 African Games in Accra.

The Nigerian quartet, composed of Sunday Israel Okon, Ekanem Consider, Akintola Alaba Olukunle, and Itsekiri Usheoritse, avenged their defeat against their Ghanaian counterparts, who had snatched the gold medal five years ago in Rabat, Morocco.

Nigeria outpace Ghana for men's 4x100m gold

With a swift time of 38.41 seconds, Nigeria executed flawless baton exchanges, particularly from the third leg to the anchor leg, which was anchored by Usheoritse, per the African Games.

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A strong challenge came from Ghana's anchor leg runner, Joseph Paul Amoah, who closed the gap despite a somewhat tricky baton exchange on the third leg. However, Usheoritse maintained his composure.

Despite Amoah's valiant efforts, he couldn't defend the crown he helped Ghana win at the previous edition, settling for silver in a closely contested race decided by mere microseconds.

Meanwhile, Liberia shattered their national record to claim the bronze medal with a time of 38.73 seconds, completing a West African trio on the podium.

John Sherman, Matadi Emmanuel, Reeves Jabez Louis, and Fahnbulleh Joseph Blowadeh Siaf contributed to Liberia's impressive performance.

Why Nigeria's win hurts Ghana more?

For Team Nigeria, this victory will serve as sweet revenge following their loss of the gold medal to Ghana five years ago in Rabat.

It was also a chance to settle the score with their West African neighbours after conceding the gold to them in the same event back in the 2003 African Games held in Abuja, as cited by Modern Ghana.

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Nigeria pips Ghana in women's 4x100m

Team Ghana faced a double blow as Nigeria's Tobi Amusan played a crucial part in leading the women's 4x100-meter relay team to gold, while the hosts settled for bronze, according to Sports Brief.

Amusan, along with Justina Tiana Eyakpobeyan, Olayinka Olajide, and Abinusawa Forehand, powered the quartet to victory with a swift time of 43.05 seconds.

This victory marked Nigeria's successful defence of their crown from five years ago in Rabat, Morocco.