Team Delta on Thursday won three gold medals in the swimming event at the National Sports Festival to continue their dominance, The PUNCH reports.
It was a feisty battle between Team Delta and Bayelsa, who won two gold medals as Team Kano also claimed their first gold medal at the event.
In the 800m freestyle men, Opute Clinton emerged winner in 9m:34s:53 to set a new national and festival record.
The previous record was set by Samson Opuakpo in 2006.
Dino Ebarakumo (Bayelsa) finished in 9m:52s:62 to claim silver, with Edo’s Seleakpobo Israel winning bronze, after finishing third in 9m:56s:16.
In the 100m backstroke women, Delta’s Timipamere Akiayefa won with a time of 1:14:93, defeating Edo and Bayelsa to win gold.
Similarly, the quartet of Timipame-Ere Akiayef, Nmor Evelyn, Okolugbo Chinonye and Okpochini Deborah won gold for Team Delta with a time of 4m:20s:98.
Meanwhile, in the 400m freestyle women, Ifiezegbe Gagbe of Bayelsa finished in 5m:04s:30, a new festival record, as she won the gold medal ahead of Team Delta’s Okpochini Deborah and Cross River’s Dorcas Oka, who both finished second and third respectively.
Breaking the dominance of Delta and Bayelsa was Team Kano’s Collins Obi, who set a new festival record of 53s:92, which bettered the initial record of 54s:33 held by Ifeakachukwu Nmor of Delta State in 2018 in the 100m freestyle men.
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