Paris 2024 Olympics finalist and reigning African U18 200m and 400m champion, Samuel Ogazi, will make his individual 400m debut this Saturday at the 2025 Tiger Track Classic, holding at Auburn University in Alabama, USA.
The U.S.-based Nigerian athlete has already featured in several relay events, both indoor and outdoor, this season. Now, he appears ready to launch his individual 400m campaign. Ogazi, 18, enjoyed a sensational 2024 season, reaching the final of the 400m at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships in Oregon. He clocked 44.52 seconds to finish second, narrowly missing out on becoming the second Nigerian to win the title after Clement Chukwu.
Ogazi then built on that success by making history at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first Nigerian since 1988 to reach the final of the 400m event. As he steps onto the track today, many will watch closely to see how he performs in the flat 400m, having opened his collegiate outdoor season last year with a time of 45.35 seconds.
According to SportsNow.ng.com, two other Nigerians are also set to compete at the Tiger Track Classic: Opeyemi Oke in the women’s 400m and Precious Nzeakor in the 100m event.
Meanwhile, sprinter Favour Ofili will feature in the second leg of the Grand Slam Track, the global professional track and field series launched by four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson. The competition, currently in its first full season from April to June 2025, offers significant prize money and global exposure.
Ofili, who reached the 200m final at the Paris 2024 Olympics, was initially scheduled to compete in the opening leg in Kingston, Jamaica, but withdrew days before the event. She opened her season on Friday at the Tom Jones Invitational in Florida, finishing second in the 200m with a time of 22.34 seconds (+0.2). Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred won the race in a swift 21.88 seconds, while Tamari Davis finished third in 22.37 seconds.
At the Grand Slam Track, Ofili, Nigeria’s 200m indoor and outdoor record holder, will contest in the short sprint events (100m and 200m), with $100,000 prize money on offer. She faces stiff competition from Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas, Brittany Brown, Daryll Neita, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Tamari Davis, Jacious Sears, and Kayla White.
Thomas, who competed in the long sprint events (200m and 400m) in Kingston, has opted to focus on the short sprints for this round and is considered the favorite for the top prize.
Ofili will also make history as the first full-blooded Nigerian to compete in the Grand Slam Track series, while Nigeria-born Salwa Eid Naser, now representing Bahrain, will compete in the long sprint events.
