Sports

Diamond League Final Takes Centre Stage

Published

4 years ago

September 8, 2021

A month after the Olympics closing ceremony, 25 champions and 41 other medallists from the Tokyo Games are due to be in Zurich this week for the final of the 2021 Wanda Diamond League.
The 12th meeting of the summer series draws the finest athletes from around the globe to the Swiss city as they vie for the prestigious Diamond League trophy and the winner’s prize of $30,000 (£22,000).
Series winners will also receive a wildcard for next year’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon and the Zurich organisers have laid on a mouth-watering feast of athletics for both today’s events in the city centre and tomorrow’s inside the Letzigrund Stadium.
In the sprint showdowns, back-to-back Olympic 100m and 200m champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, is the star attraction in a tantalising women’s 100m race, after running a blistering 10.54 seconds in Eugene last month.
The Jamaican is now the second fastest woman of all time and she may face the third in Zurich, with her compatriot, and predecessor as Olympic champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce expected to compete.
Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who has run 10.78 this year, and British duo Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita are also on the provisional start list.
World 200m champion Asher-Smith, may choose to focus on the longer event, though, where she would face equally stiff opposition in Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, and Christine Mboma of Namibia.
Asher-Smith, 25, finished third in both Paris (100m) and Brussels (200m) recently after a rollercoaster Olympics, which she finished with bronze in the 4x100m relay after injury marred her individual events.
In the men’s sprints, Canada’s Olympic 200m champion Andre de Grasse and American 100m silver medallist Fred Kerley are named in both events.
It should come as no surprise that Norway’s Karsten Warholm will start the 400m hurdles as the overwhelming favourite.
After shattering the world record with a scintillating 45.94 to win gold in Tokyo, Warholm ran a modest 45.51 over the flat in Lausanne and will be eager to return to his best in front of a capacity crowd.
His compatriot Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 20, is listed for both the 1500m and 5,000m.
Should he compete in both, he would run in two different venues – with the latter one of seven titles up for grabs in the city centre on Wednesday, and the former one of 25 on offer in the stadium on Thursday.
The Olympic 1500m champion, who ran a Games-record three minutes 28.32 seconds to take gold, is the European record holder in both events, and his battle with Kenyan world champion Timothy Cheruiyot over the metric mile will be a particularly fascinating duel.
In the pole vault, Sweden’s Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis will be looking to add to his recent wins in Paris and Brussels as he faces American two-time world champion Sam Kendricks, who was forced to withdraw from Tokyo 2020 on the eve of the competition after a positive Covid-19 test.
Elsewhere, Kenyan 1500m Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon faces 5,000m and 10,000m gold medallist Sifan Hassan, American two-time Olympic champion Ryan Crouser takes an unbeaten record this season into the men’s shot put, and the women’s high jump features all three medallists – Authorised Neutral Athlete Mariya Lasitskene, Nicola McDermott of Australia and the Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh.

Sports

NDG: Rivers Coach Appeal To NDDC In Talent Discovery

Published

16 hours ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

Rivers State Chess coach Nnamso Umoren has appealed to relevant authorities, most especially the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to provide funds for scouting of hidden talents at the grassroots.

He stated that lack of funds is hindering most coaches from doing what they are expected to do; hence, they don’t have enough money to travel to rural areas to discover talents.

Umoren made the appeal in an exclusive interview with Tidesports yesterday, in Benin, Edo State, shortly after the second edition of the Niger Delta Games drew her curtains closed.

According to him, without coaches no athlete can perform better, as coaches are the ones that teach athletes the techniques and rudiments of every sport.

“I appeal to the commission to support the coaches with funds to enable them to go to the areas and discover talents. Lack of funds for coaches limits the extent to which they can move around within the state in search of talents.

“I am of the general opinion that without coaches, athletes cannot perform better; hence, the coaches teach them the rudiments of the sports,” Umoren said.

The Chess coach called on the Rivers State government to organise tournaments in the State to know the strength of athletes discovered, saying that will improve sporting activities in the State.

However, he commends NDDC, who are the major sponsors of NDG, and Dumamis Icon Limited for close to perfect organisation.

Tonye Orabere

Sports

Rivers Sports Director Rates Niger Delta Games High

Published

17 hours ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Director of Sports, Obia Inyingikabo has that the just concluded second edition of the Niger Delta Games, held in Benin, Edo State, was very impressive and well organised.

She commended both the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Dumamis Icon Limited for the sponsorship and organisation respectively.

According to her, the problem of the team was the epileptic situation of shuttle buses, which was not under the direct control of the sports council.

Inyingikabo said this in a telephone interview with Tidesports yesterday; she confirmed that apart from the poor transport system for athletes, every arrangement went successfully as planned.

The director praised her athletes for making the State proud by winning gold, silver, and bronze medals during the games. She assured the people of Rivers State that in the next edition they will perform better and also used the opportunity to commend Rivers State promoting sports in the State.

Tonye Orabere

Sports

Treat Bees, Silkworms As Valuable Resources – Don

Published

17 hours ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

A Professor of Applied Entomology and Pest Management, at the Federal University of Technology Akure,(FUTA), Olufunmilayo Oladipo, has said insects such as bees ,houseflies silkworms and similar species should be seen and treated as valuable resources whose careful management could enhance food security, generate income, support industrial applications, and contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economic diversification.

Prof. Oladipo made the remark while delivering the 193rd Inaugural Lecture of the institution on Tuesday, February 24, 2026.

Citing the honeybee as a prime example, Oladipo noted that beyond honey production, bees provide beeswax, royal jelly, propolis and venom used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, while their pollination services significantly increase crop yields and biodiversity.

She also referenced silkworms, whose silk supports textile industries and export earnings, as well as black soldier flies and houseflies, locusts, grasshoppers, mealworms and crickets which are increasingly used in the production of high-protein livestock and aquaculture feeds, thereby reducing dependence on expensive imported feed ingredients.

Speaking on the topic, “Six-Legged Arthropods: Food Security, Health and National Economic Development,” Professor Oladipo highlighted the multiple contributions of insects to national development in a monolithic economy like Nigeria, where over-dependence on crude oil has limited diversification.

She pointed out that insects serve as food for humans and feed for livestock, provide income for households through apiculture, sericulture, and insect-based enterprises, and supply raw materials for pharmaceutical and industrial uses. Beneficial insects also enhance food security through nutrient recycling, biological control of harmful species and weeds, and pollination of crops and horticultural plants, resulting in bumper harvests and increased biodiversity.

Professor Oladipo further mentioned termites and dung beetles for their role in nutrient recycling and soil aeration, improving soil fertility and agricultural productivity. Ladybird beetles and parasitic wasps, she explained, serve as natural biological control agents, reducing populations of destructive pests without harming the environment.

In the area of public health, Oladipo declared that though “the economic toll of insect vectors is staggering, stretching from the household to national economy, thereby undermining productivity, draining family resources, and constraining national growth, certain insects negatively affect agriculture, public health, and livelihoods”.

The professor pointed to the importance of understanding mosquitoes and other disease vectors such as tsetse flies, whose management is critical in combating malaria, yellow fever, dengue, sleeping sickness and other vector-borne diseases that weaken workforce productivity and strain national resources.

She cited data showing that malaria alone costs Africa over 12 billion dollars annually in healthcare expenditures, lost productivity, and reduced investment. Beyond mortality, she emphasized, insect-borne diseases also contribute to morbidity, chronic disability, and reduced workforce efficiency, imposing heavy burdens on families, health systems, and national economies.

She referenced maggot therapy, currently practiced in teaching hospitals in Kano, as a safe and effective treatment for chronic diabetic wounds adding that bioactive compounds from fungus-insect complexes such as Bombyx batryticatus and Beauveria bassiana, which have been developed into medicines with anticonvulsant, anticancer, antifungal, anticoagulant, and hypolipidemic properties.

Weaver ants, bee venom, and cantharidin from blister beetles, she stated, also possess therapeutic value, including immune-boosting, anti-diabetic, anti-arthritic, and antiviral applications. She maintained that strategic government investment in entomotherapy could strengthen healthcare delivery, reduce pharmaceutical import dependence, save lives, and support national economic diversification.

According to her, these examples demonstrate that insects are not merely pests to be eradicated but strategic biological assets that, if properly managed, can enhance food security, strengthen public health systems, generate employment, and support Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda.

The Agric expert noted however, that certain pest species continue to pose threats to agriculture and public health, thereby negatively affecting economic growth. She stressed that proper management, rather than indiscriminate eradication, is key to maximizing the benefits of these six-legged resources.

Professor Oladipo advocated integrated pest management strategies that prioritize environmentally friendly approaches, including botanicals, pheromones, biological control agents, growth regulators, and semiochemicals, while minimizing the use of broad-spectrum synthetic insecticides.

She warned that excessive reliance on chemicals has resulted in resistance, environmental pollution, and harm to non-target organisms. She also called for stricter regulation of pesticide importation and usage under professional supervision, and for stronger surveillance by regulatory authorities to prevent the introduction of exotic pest species.

To strengthen Nigeria’s capacity in entomology, she urged the government to support insect rearing and the conservation of beneficial species and to establish more Departments of Entomology in universities.

On the benefits of insects, she stressed the need for shifting societal perceptions and promoting sustainable practices, calling for stronger linkages between universities and industries to translate research findings into practical applications and commercial opportunities.

Professor Oladipo further appealed for increased funding for research and for targeted support for brilliant but indigent students in science-based disciplines, emphasizing that nurturing the next generation of entomologists and agricultural scientists is critical for national development.

Presenting the inaugural lecturer, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adenike Oladiji, FAS, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development), Professor Sunday Oluyamo, described Professor Oladipo as a distinguished scholar whose research has significantly advanced the field of entomology and strengthened FUTA’s academic and research profile.

The Vice Chancellor who described the lecture as ‘timely’, given Nigeria’s challenges in food security, public health, and economic diversification, commended the inaugural lecturer’s scholarly depth, resilience, and dedication to mentoring students, reaffirming FUTA’s commitment to research that addresses pressing national development priorities.