Five days of intense competition at the second edition of the Niger Delta Games (NDG) ended on Thursday, 26 February, with a colourful closing ceremony at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Edo State. While Edo State emerged overall winners with 52 gold medals — a rare feat for a host state at a multi-sport national event — the dominant conversation as delegates departed the ancient city centred not on the medal table, but on the quality of athletics on display. From the opening-day 100 metres finals to the closing relay events, the track witnessed a succession of blistering performances that reaffirmed the Niger Delta’s long-standing reputation as a cradle of Nigerian athletics talent. Over the decades, the region has produced some of the country’s finest sprinters, quarter-mil...