The atmosphere inside the stadium turned chaotic immediately following the conclusion of the short sprint. Rosemary Chukwuma, a two-time African Under-20 champion, threw her hands up in celebration after crossing the finish line, completely convinced that she had secured her very first senior continental title for Team Nigeria. In fact, initial stadium indications even leaned toward the Nigerian sprinter as the winner of the race.
However, the trackside drama deepened as officials and journalists grappled with the local organizing committee's technical challenges. The event has been plagued by a dysfunctional timing device, adding a layer of frustration for athletes, coaches, and media members trying to follow the action in Accra.
Because the naked eye could not definitively separate the top two runners, track officials were forced into a lengthy and tense review of the race tape. After several minutes of waiting, the video replay and official photo-finish data delivered a shocking twist to the stadium audience.
The official results revealed that Cameroon's six-time national champion, Kole Etame Herverge, running out of lane five, had edged out Chukwuma by a mere three-thousandths of a second. Herverge was officially credited with a winning time of 11.485 seconds, while a heartbroken Chukwuma was downgraded to the silver medal position with a time of 11.488 seconds. Liberia's Thelma Davies completed the podium to take the bronze medal in 11.50 seconds.
For the 25-year-old Herverge, the dramatic victory served as ultimate redemption after failing to reach the 100m final at the previous edition of the championships. Speaking after the chaotic review, the Cameroonian champion expressed her immense joy in securing the gold medal for her nation. Meanwhile, the Nigerian delegation was left to process the agonizingly close margin that stood between Chukwuma and the top spot on the podium.