Team Nigeria’s shot-putter Anabel Orobosa Frank has expressed sadness after her performance fell short of a podium finish at the ongoing 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Aleshinloye Owolabi reports.
The Nigerian Shot Put champion admittedly choked on the big stage despite battling against odds to reach the final of the women’s event after finishing 5th in Group B with a throw of 16.27m.
But her final 16.70m throw was far short of earning her a podium finish as Sarah Mitton of Canada claimed gold, throwing a best score of 19.03m in her sixth attempt.
The Canadian edged Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd who finished second with 18.98m. While Maddison-Lee Wesche of Australia got the bronze medal with a throw of 18.84m.
“My debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham was nice as I competed against the best; this is my first international outing for Team Nigeria,” the 27-year-old Athletics and Para Athletics lady said. “Didn’t expect what I did on Wednesday night, regardless it felt short of my performance and target.
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“ I saw from my and learnt a lot from them, I hope to go back and make a few amends. Maybe in next competitions I’ll do much better than my performance in Birmingham.
“I was a bit tensed during the final event as I saw some top Shot Put athletes whose videos I’ve been watching on social video platform YouTube. The weather didn’t help too.”
Frank did express optimism going into future championships strong with eyes firmly on winning gold.
“Hope go back home to train harder, deal with stage fright and learn not to be overwhelmed at the big stage and keep my focus,” she said.”I intend to come out strong with a winning plan in upcoming competitions.”