Sports
London 2012: ‘Team Nigeria Won’t Disappoint In Athletics’
President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Solomon Ogba, has assured that Team Nigeria was in good shape to excel in the track and field events of the 2012 Olympic Games.
He told journalists covering the 30th Olympiad in London on Wednesday that the athletics team would do its best to bring smiles on faces of Nigerians during the Games.
Team Nigeria is yet to get onto the medals table at the Games as at the official day six of the 17-day Games on Wednesday afternoon.
Already, its four table tennis players have crashed out of their events in the competition, just as its lone competitor in the canoeing event has lost out.
Two of its three boxers at the Games have also been knocked out of the competition, while the men’s basketball team have won only one of their two games played so far.
‘’The athletics team at the Olympics here will do their best, though I am not promising anything. But all I know is that these athletes are in good condition, ‘’ Ogba said.
He said he was hoping that all the 29 track and field athletes would get to the semi-finals stage of their respective events.
‘’For me, I want all of them to get to the semi final, and I am sure that from there, anything can happen, ‘’ the former Delta Sports Commissioner said.
He said his federation had taken measures to ensure optimum concentration on the part of the athletes ahead of their competition today.
Ogba said he had imposed bans on frequent meetings with the athletes as well as barring visitors to the team, saying he informed the athletes of this at a meeting with them.
‘’I will not want people to distract the athletes by locking them up with meetings, and I have told them that there should be no meetings with my athletes, and that there should be no visitors, too.
‘’I want these athletes to concentrate and have peace of mind before their events start, ‘’ he said.
Ogba assured that the athletes have been in a good mood and training well, saying this was why he wanted them to remain focused and not be burdened with meetings.
“I don’t know what they are meeting about, but all have changed now and the athletes are presently in good condition to give Nigerians Olympic smiles, ” he said.
Kobi Okoye, London
Akpata emerged unopposed during the federation’s annual general meeting and board elections, which ended in Abuja on Saturday.
The election was decided by 37 delegates, with 12 other board members also emerging, to steer the affairs of the federation for the next four years.
Former Kwara State stalwart, Wale Obalola, emerged as the vice president at the election.
Representative of the South-West on the NCF board, Tayo Atoloye, also returned for another term, while team manager of the Junior Female Yellow Greens, Femi John, was elected as the representative of the South-South on the board.
Other zonal representatives are Chika Okoro (South-East), Ladan Usman (North-West), Dare Aimola (North-Central), and Zainab Adamu (North-East).
Former captain of the men’s national team, Endurance Ofem, secured 30 of the 37 votes to beat another ex-player, Chimezie Onwuzulike, for the players’ representative seat.
Olumide Akinkokun emerged as the technical representative, Prof Mariam Suleiman will represent the National Association of Women in Sports, Chuma Anosike as the sponsors’ representative, while the military and paramilitary will be represented on the board by Major Monica Wabulla.
The president, Akpata, was first elected in 2021 and has driven the growth of Nigerian cricket in the last four years.
Part of his notable achievements include the heavy investment in infrastructure and high-performance, national grassroots development programmes, as well as the introduction of professional contracts for Nigerian players.
Earlier this year, the women’s U-19 team finished sixth at the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia, after the senior team had won a historic bronze medal at the last edition of the African Games in Ghana in 2024.
Nigeria has also bagged several International Cricket Council awards in recognition of the country’s strides towards growing the game, especially for women.
The 22-year-old ran a scorching 47.11 seconds in Friday’s final, smashing his previous national record of 47.31 seconds set earlier this year and becoming only the second Nigerian since Henry Amike in 1987 to reach the 400m hurdles final at the World Championships.
“I hope this performance will inspire young Nigerian athletes,” Nathaniel said after the dramatic final
“This is a great opportunity to learn from the world’s best athletes.”
The race saw American Rai Benjamin storm to victory in 46.52 seconds to finally clinch his first world championship gold medal after two silvers and a bronze, but not without drama.
Benjamin was initially disqualified for crashing into the final hurdle and affecting other athletes, briefly elevating Nathaniel to bronze position. However, the American’s appeal was quickly upheld and he was restored to the top of the timesheet.
Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos claimed silver in 46.84 seconds, while Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba took bronze in 47.06 seconds, leaving Nathaniel agonisingly close to Nigeria’s second medal of the championships.
Despite the near-miss, Nathaniel remained philosophical about the disqualification reversal.
It’s a fair call,” the Nigerian said.
“He put in a lot of work to get that medal and if they are trying to rip off from that, I don’t think that’s fair. He didn’t deliberately knock over the hurdle, that could happen to anyone.”
The former 800m runner, who competes for Baylor University in Texas, expressed satisfaction with his performance and hinted at greater things to come saying, “I still have a lot of potential. I am pleased because I did my best and I ran a personal record. I have it in me and just need to wait for the right time. For now, I am enjoying the process.”
Nathaniel’s rapid rise in the event has been remarkable. Born in 2003, he broke a decades-old Nigerian record set by Henry Amike when he ran 48.42 seconds at the Big 12 Conference meet in 2022 as a freshman.
His progress accelerated dramatically this year. In June, he won the NCAA Outdoor Championships title in Eugene, Oregon, clocking 47.49 seconds – the third fastest time in NCAA history. He also became the first man in NCAA history to run a sub-48-second time in the 400m hurdles semifinal, recording 47.86 seconds.
The Tokyo performance adds another chapter to what has been an exceptional year for the young hurdler, who has now established himself among the world’s elite quarter-mile hurdlers.
While Nathaniel’s fourth-place finish matches Amike’s result from the 1987 World Championships in Rome, his national record performance signals a bright future for Nigerian athletics in the event.
Nigeria’s campaign in Tokyo concluded with Tobi Amusan as the country’s only medallist, though this still represented an improvement over the Budapest World Championships where Team Nigeria ended empty-handed.
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