US-based sprinter Ufodiama completes Nigeria switch

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US-based sprinter Kelly Ufodiama has completed the switching of her allegiance from the United States to Nigerian after hitting the 2025 World Championships qualification mark in the women's 200m, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Ufodiama's switch had been on for a while but her World Athletics profile has just been updated, confirming her eligibility to compete for Nigeria.

The 19-year-old sprinter recently finished fourth in the women's 200m at the NCAA finals in Oregon, running a time of 22.61s (0.7).

Though she did not reach the final, Ufodiama still placed well in the 200m, finishing in 11th place in the semifinals for Second Team All-America honours. Her time of 22.61 missed out on a time qualifier by just 0.02 seconds.

In the 100m, Ufodiama dashed to a time of 11.41 seconds to finish 22nd in the semifinals.

Competing as a freshman at East Carolina University, Ufodiama has had a breakout season, with personal bests of 11.15s in the 100m and 22.54s in the 200m -- the latter set at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Florida, on May 31, qualified her for the World Athletics Championships which will be held in Tokyo, Japan later this year.

That also makes her the third Nigerian woman to hit the World Championship standard for Tokyo along with Favour Ofili and Tima Godbless.

Her 22.54s also places her as the second-fastest U-20 woman in the world this year.

Born and raised in the United States, Ufodiama was a dual-sport athlete in high school, combining basketball and athletics before focusing on the latter.

Earlier this season, she earned the American Athletic Conference Women's Outdoor Track Most Outstanding Performance accolade along with Most Valuable Performer, Freshman of the Year and Most Outstanding Performance recognition for both the indoor and outdoor seasons.