Calabar High’s Anthony Carpenter was forced to change his spikes minutes after he lined up for the Class 1 boys’ 400m semi-finals on Friday’s 4th day of the 2018 Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships.
The sprinter took to the track in a black and white spikes, but after checks by the officials, he was told he wouldn’t be allowed to race in it. He went back to take his seat while instructions were given to the other athletes, already behind their blocks, to keep warm.
Shortly after a member from Calabar’s coaching staff came with a pair of blue, white and red replacement spikes, in which he apparently showed some form of discomfort before the race.
One senior official when asked by this journalist, said that Carpenter was wearing “dirt nails, which is not allowed.”
These sink deeper into the track and are more common on dirt/grass cross country courses or on cinder tracks.
