The West African Athletics Championships is an international athletics competition between West African nations, organised by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA).
| West African Athletics Championships | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | outdoor track and field |
| Venue | varied |
| Inaugurated | 1997 |
| Participants | West African nations |
| Organised by | Confederation of African Athletics |
The event was first held in 1997, two years after a combined West and North African Athletics Championships, and was contested on four occasions until 2005.[1] The event was relaunched as a biennial, senior and under-20 competition in 2017 under the official title of the CAA Region 2 African Championships.[2][3]
Nigeria, the largest nation in the region, did not take part in 1997 or 2005. As a result, the competition was an opportunity for athletes from smaller nations in the region to train and prepare for larger scale athletics championships.[4][5]
The CAA began to organise other regional African championships in the same period, including the East African Athletics Championships, North African Athletics Championships and African Southern Region Athletics Championships.[6][7][8]
Among other athletics events to be held for the region were the West African Games in 1977 and the West African Cross Country Championships in 1996.[5]
Editions
editWest African Athletics Championships
edit| Edition | Year | City | Country | Date | Nations | Athletes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997 | Cotonou | Benin | [5] | ||
| 2 | 1999 | Bamako | Mali | [5] | ||
| 3 | 2001 | Lagos | Nigeria | [5] | ||
| 4 | 2005 | Dakar | Senegal | 29–30 April[4] | [5] |
CAA Region 2 African Championships
edit| Edition | Year | City | Country | Date | Nations | Athletes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017 | Conakry | Guinea | 12–14 May[2] | ||
| 2 | 2019 | Niamey | Niger | 25–27 July[3] |
Events
editThe competition programme features 33 regular athletics events: six track running events, two hurdles events, three jumps, three throws, and two relay races for both the sexes, plus a men's 10,000 metres.[5]
- 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres, 1500 metres, 5000 metres, 10,000 metres (men only)
- Obstacle events
- 100 metres hurdles (women only), 110 metres hurdles (men only), 400 metres hurdles
Several events were held once only, including a men's 3000 metres steeplechase in 1997, and hammer throw and 2000 m race walk for both men and women in 2001. Pole vault was not available as an event for either sex.[5]
References
edit- ^ West and North African Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
- ^ a b West African championships, Niamey (Niger) 25-27/07/2019. Africathle. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ a b West African championships, Niamey (Niger) 25-27/07/2019. Africathle. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ a b Ba, Oumar (2005-04-25). West African Championships in Dakar today and tomorrow. World Athletics. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
- ^ a b c d e f g h West African Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
- ^ African Southern Region Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ West and North African Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ North African Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-02-13.