10 km Medallist Seeks FG’s Investment In Athletics

A  gold medallist at the
2013 Nani International Marathon in China, Aderonke Olumudi,  has urged the Federal Government to invest adequately in athletics to achieve global result.
Olumide, who ran 10 kilometres at a time of 36 minutes at the 69th All Nigeria Athletics Championship in Warri at the weekend, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in the oil city.
The marathoner noted that the country could achieve the feat of Jamaicans and other renowned athletics nations in the world if the government could do invest more in athletics.
The 22-year-old Kogi-born athlete said her intention was to move to Kenya or Ethiopia to understudy their athletes so that she could become the first woman to represent Nigeria in marathon event in the Olympics.
‘’I feel bad that I came third today in the 10, 000 metres marathon; it is a challenge to me because it shows that my training is not good enough, so I have to improve on it.
‘’Training is key to any good result; I use to train in Jos but my plan now is to go to Kenya or Ethiopia to know why they usually perform well,’’ she said.
She advised athletes who indulged in the use of performance-enhancing drugs to desist from it, saying that it could ruin their career.
‘’I don’t get sponsor from anyone; I use my money to invest in my career because I know where I am going.
‘’I want to be the first Nigerian marathoner in the Olympics and other world events.
‘’If government can invest in athletics, in the next two years, the result will show,’’ she said.