The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has officially unveiled the qualifying standards for the 2025 World Athletics Championships Trials, set to take place from July 31 to August 2 at the MKO Abiola International Stadium in Abeokuta. These standards will serve as the benchmark for athletes seeking both participation and accommodation at the national trials, which will be a key event in selecting Team Nigeria for the World Championships.
To be eligible for participation and AFN arranged accommodation, athletes must meet the Minimum Entry Requirements (MERs) within the qualification window of January 1 to July 25, 2025. For the men’s sprints, the 100m and 200m require times of 10.50s and 21.20s respectively, while the women must clock 11.70s in the 100m and 24.00s in the 200m. The men’s 400m standard is set at 46.99s, with the women needing 54.50s. While accommodation will only be provided for athletes meeting these stricter standards, the event also remains open to those who meet slightly relaxed entry marks: for instance, 10.66s (men) and 12.00s (women) in the 100m.
Middle and long distance events, field events, hurdles, relays, and combined events also have their specific cut off marks. For instance, the men’s high jump standard is set at 2.15m, long jump at 7.57m, and triple jump at 15.90m, while women need 1.65m, 6.00m, and 12.80m respectively. Field events remain open to qualified athletes even if accommodation quotas are not met. With these guidelines now public, the race against time begins for athletes across the nation to meet the marks and stake their claim on Nigeria’s team to the global stage.
