Nimrod canvasses more leadership roles for women
President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, says the nation’s flagbearers to this year’s African U-18 and U-20 championships in Zambia will get the best of preparation in Asaba, Delta State.
AFN had earlier fixed the High Performance Centre, Abuja, as training camp for the final leg of preparations for the Africa championships, but later moved the exercise to Asaba on Monday evening.
Majority of the athletes arrived in Asaba in the early hours of yesterday, while others were still being expected in the city. Speaking with The Guardian, yesterday, Okowa stated that considering championships’ pedigree, the AFN is eager to give the athletes best of preparations.
“We decided to move the athletes to Asaba, because we want them to have opportunity of training with latest equipment without distraction. The African championship is getting close, so, we have to put everything into it (training the athletes). I hope the athletes will live up to our expectation. No room for laziness and distraction,” Okowa stated.
The Zambia 2023 African U-18 and U-20 Championships will hold from April 29 to May 3 in Ndola. The event was moved from Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Okowa revealed, yesterday, that the AFN had put all machinery in place to make the athletes and their coaches happy, adding that training with the best of equipment used for the 21st National Sports Festival last December would be added advantage to the athletes.
In 2019, Team Nigeria took 106 young athletes to Cote d’Ivoire by road, and finished third on the medals table with 13 gold, six silver and 13 bronze behind South Africa and Kenya.
At the event, Nigeria’s Favour Offili emerged the Most Valuable Athlete of the championship. Offili, who is now based in the United States, has grown to become one of Nigeria and Africa’s fastest sprinters in the senior category.
Ofili set new championship best in the 200m and 400m en route to completing the U-18 double in 2019. She is now Nigeria’s record holder in the 200m indoors (22.11) and outdoor (21.96).
Another Nigerian athlete, Enoch Adegoke, won the 100m gold at the 2019 African U-18 and U-20 championships, and went on to make history as the first Nigerian in 25 years to run in the 100m final at the Tokyo Olympics barely two years later.
Over 55 athletes have been invited to the Asaba camp, as the AFN begins the process of unearthing the next generation of stars, who will go on to make history at the African Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championship and the Olympics Games.
