Nigeria’s discus thrower Obiageri Pamela Amaechi won the country’s first medal in Athletics at the ongoing Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, claiming silver in the women’s Discus throw event, www.aclsports.com reports.
On the opening day of Athletics, Amaechi produced a best throw of 56.99m, earning Nigeria its first medal at the Games. She finished just behind Cameroon’s Nora Atim Monie, who took gold with 57.04m, while Türkiye’s Ozlem Becerek claimed the bronze.
Nigeria came close to doubling its medal tally in the event, but Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons narrowly missed out on the podium, placing fourth with a throw of 55.08m.
In the men’s 100m, Caleb Temidara John qualified for the final after a chaotic semi-final that featured six false or faulty starts, running 10.42s (0.0) to advance as a non-automatic qualifier. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish the race in the final. The medals went to Oman’s Ali Anwar Ali Al Balushi, who took gold, Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Atafi, who claimed silver, and Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme Alobwede, who secured bronze.
Nigeria’s other representative, James Taiwo Emmanuel, ran in the other semi-final but missed out on a place in the final after clocking 10.46s for sixth position.
This latest medal brings Nigeria’s tally to six gold, six silver, and four bronze, causing the country to slip from 6th to 8th on the medal table. Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and Iran hold the top three positions, while Egypt and Morocco are also ahead of Nigeria.
