Eko 2012: Discovered Athletes Should Focus On Strengths, Weaknesses- IAAF

An Instructor with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Rotimi Obajimi,  has urged newly-discovered talents from the just-concluded 18th National Sports Festival (NSF) to focus on their strengths and weaknesses.

Obajimi told the Tidesports yesterday in Lagos that it had become mandatory for such athletes to get themselves ready for the next stage of their careers.

“I spoke with Aminat Olowora after she won the 5,000m and the 10,000m events and asked her what her plans were.

“I told her that if she wants to compete in the international circuit, she will have the Kenyans and the Ethiopians to contend with.

“I made her to understand that she will have to adopt their training methods and carefully choose the kind of races to participate in, to aid her development,’’ he said.

The IAAF instructor stressed that she would have to think through her decision, before deciding on which events to feature in.

“She cannot just run the marathon because she won the gold in the 5,000m; she has to decide where she fits before stepping out for major events,’’ he said.

Obajimi also said that some budding long jumpers had caught his attention at the NSF.

He added that the athletes would need to work on their physical structure, their capability in terms of speed and their techniques, to fit into a well-structured development programme.

Meanwhile, results in the men’s marathon final: Kayode Seriki of Team Bayelsa returned a time of 2 hrs, 28 mins, 29:01secs for the gold, Philibus Sharubutu of Team Nassarawa came second in 2 hrs, 32 mins, 32:78secs, while Itam Isaiah of Cross River came third with 2 hrs, 33 mins, 07:00secs.

In the women’s marathon final: Vivian Ichuli of Team Cross River came first with a time of 3 hrs, 11 mins, 51:40secs, Lewechi Madubuezi of Abia clocked 3 hrs, 12 mins, 13:66secs, while Maria Kebang of Delta returned 3 hrs, 15 mins, 58:72secs.

In the 200m men, Hope Ikah of Edo came first in 21 mins, 48secs, Tamunotonye Briggs of Team Ondo returned 21 mins, 58secs, while Ukale Elvis of Delta State came third in 21 mins, 52secs.

In the 200m women, Margaret Benson of Edo came first in 23 mins, 73secs, Miriam Edet-Bassey of Cross River was second in 23 mins, 96secs and Peace Uko of Ondo State placed third with 23 mins, 97secs.

The 800m men was won by Yahaya Hamadjan of Cross River in 1 min, 52:30secs, Hope Anagbi of Rivers came second with a time of 1 min, 53:36secs, while Johnson Akinsunjoye of Lagos State was third in 1 min, 53:51secs.

In the women’s 800m, Patience George of Cross River came first in 2 mins, 07:03secs, Esther Oluwatobiloba of Oyo State came second in 2 mins, 09:36secs, while Stella Sunday of Cross River finished in the third position in 2 mins, 10:90secs.