The duo of Omolola Tobiloba Akinsanmi and Owolabi Olajide yesterday etched their names into the history by winning historic gold medals for Ogun State in the swimming and golf events at the on-going
22nd National Sports Festival otherwise known as Gateway Games Ogun 2024.
The UK-based Akinsanmi, practically defied the odds to win the state’s first gold medal at this games as well as its first-ever gold medal in the women’s 800-meter freestyle in swimming.
In her extraordinary display at the new Olympic size swimming pool inside the MKO Abiola Sports Arena, the young swimmer staged comeback as she found herself in third place 400 late in the event, but turned on the heat to secure the top spot.
Read Also: AFCON U20 : NFF submits final 23-man squad as Flying Eagles off to Cairo weekend
A visibly happy Akinsanmi said winning the women’s 800-metre freestyle was by no means an easy task but a dint of hard work after rigorous years of training.
“The 800 is a very long event, so I had to prepare mentally, even though I started in third, I kept telling myself, ‘I’m ready. I’m going to win this’,” she said. “At the halfway mark, I pushed harder and started gaining speed. I said to myself, ‘I’m going to get this gold’ and I did.”
News of Akinsanmi’s sensational feat in the swimming pool was yet to die down when Olajide also stroked his way in the golf course by clinching the gold medal in the Stroke Play Amateur golf event.
Ogun State won Bayelsa on sudden death with the gross scores of 72 while Niger played 76 gross.
Following their sensational victories both , Akinsanmi and Olajide is each guaranteed a N 2.5 million gift promised by the Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun.