Nigerian discus thrower Pamela Amaechi has earned her country’s inaugural medal in athletics at the ongoing Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, winning silver in the women’s discus throw event.
On the first day of athletics, Amaechi achieved her best throw of 56.99 meters, securing Nigeria’s first medal at the Games.
She finished just behind Cameroon’s Nora Atim Monie, who took gold with a throw of 57.04 meters, while Türkiye’s Ozlem Becerek earned the bronze.
Nigeria nearly added another medal in the event, but Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons fell short, finishing fourth with a throw of 55.08 meters.
In the men’s 100m, Caleb Temidara John advanced to the final after a tumultuous semi-final that included six false starts, clocking 10.42 seconds (0.0) to qualify as a non-automatic entrant.
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Unfortunately, he was unable to finish the final race. The medals were awarded to Oman’s Ali Anwar Ali Al Balushi for gold, Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Atafi for silver, and Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme Alobwede for bronze.
Nigeria’s other competitor, James Taiwo Emmanuel, participated in a different semi-final but did not qualify for the final, finishing sixth with a time of 10.46 seconds.
With this latest medal, Nigeria’s overall tally stands at six gold, six silver, and four bronze, resulting in a drop from 6th to 8th place in the medal standings.
Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and Iran occupy the top three spots, with Egypt and Morocco also ahead of Nigeria.
