African Games medallist Consider Ekanem and new national women’s 400m champion Esther Joseph have been signed by the Tennessee Track and Field in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, USA, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The NCAA is a programme which allows students to combine athletics and sports, and on scholarship as well, with the opportunity of transitioning into professional athletes after their studies.
Consider and Joseph will be on the roster of Tennessee Track and Field ahead of next season.
Both athletes were winners for Nigeria at the 2023 African Games in Ghana.
Consider, 20, claimed bronze in the men’s 200m and added gold to it with the men’s 4x100m relay team. He also set a personal best of 10.10s in the 100m, which was the world lead as of January.
Joseph is Nigeria’s new women’s 400m champion, clocking 51.70s to win her first national title at the Olympics trials in Benin City last month. She held off a late charge from Patience Okon-George, who finished second in 51.76s and Imaobong Nse-Uko (third) in a season-best of 52.04s.
She won silver in the women’s 400m at the African Games in Ghana plus a gold medal in the women’s 4x400m relay as well as another gold in the relays at the recently-concluded African Championship in Cameroon.
Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years