The Nation Newspaper

Tag: athletes

  • National Youth Games Athletes urged to stay off drugs

    Athletes from Kwara have been told to stay off drugs, ahead of the National Youth Games scheduled from Dec. 5 to Dec 15 in Abuja.

    Johnson Abiodun, the Head Coach, Kwara State Athletics Association, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone on Monday in Ilorin.

    Abiodun said that there was need to discourage youths from doping because they were at the prime of their careers. He urged the athletes to engage in personal examination, to ensure they were free of banned substances because some athletes were ignorant of the supplements they took.

    “It is important we begin to tackle the issue of doping at this level. The National Youth Games is around the corner and athletes need to remain clean. This is the level where the future of Nigeria’s athletics lie and it’s important we start getting things right from this level.

    “I’ll advise that these athletes conduct some self-examination before the competition, so that they don’t tarnish their careers with drugs,” he said.

    Abiodun also appealed to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to ensure that the event was drug free.

    “I want to also appeal to the AFN to create an enabling environment that would guarantee a drug-free Games come December in Abuja,” Abiodun said.

    According to the coach, doping is a huge disadvantage on the career of an athlete because it could prevent the athlete from being consistent.

  • National Youth Games: Athletes urged to stay off drugs

    National Youth Games: Athletes urged to stay off drugs

    Athletes from Kwara have been told to stay off drugs, ahead of the National Youth Games scheduled from Dec. 5 to Dec 15 in Abuja.

    Johnson Abiodun, the Head Coach, Kwara State Athletics Association, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone on Monday in Ilorin.

    Abiodun said that there was need to discourage youths from doping because they were at the prime of their careers. He urged the athletes to engage in personal examination, to ensure they were free of banned substances because some athletes were ignorant of the supplements they took.

    “It is important we begin to tackle the issue of doping at this level. The National Youth Games is around the corner and athletes need to remain clean. This is the level where the future of Nigeria’s athletics lie and it’s important we start getting things right from this level.

    “I’ll advise that these athletes conduct some self-examination before the competition, so that they don’t tarnish their careers with drugs,” he said.

    Abiodun also appealed to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to ensure that the event was drug free.

    “I want to also appeal to the AFN to create an enabling environment that would guarantee a drug-free Games come December in Abuja,” Abiodun said.

    According to the coach, doping is a huge disadvantage on the career of an athlete because it could prevent the athlete from being consistent.

  • …Again Nigerian male athletes absent in Diamond league

    …Again Nigerian male athletes absent in Diamond league

    Meanwhile, fastest woman in Africa, Blessing Okagbare strongest contender at the championships will be Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Ivory Coast sprinter’ Murielle Ahoure. However, Nigeria’s male athletes would not be in attendance because of their inability to qualify for various athletics championships in recent times.

    In an interview with the SportingLife, President of AFN, Solomon Ogba admitted that ever since the retirement of Fastest man in Africa, Olusoji Fasuba, the country has been struggling to enter its male athletes in competitions.

    “For the boys, we have always had problem, after Uchenna Emedolu, in fact, Fasuba was the only star we had then.After Fasuba left, we have not had any, we have been struggling but trying to rebuild,” Ogba said.

    Sprint legend, Usain Bolt is among six Jamaicans confirmed for the Diamond League meeting in Zurich today. Bolt will compete in the men’s 100 metres, his first race since the Moscow World Championships.

    Bolt will race against three other Jamaicans in the short sprint Nesta Carter, the 100-metre bronze medallist at the Moscow World Championships, Nickel Ashmeade and Kemar Bailey Cole.

    The race also includes American Justin Gatlin, who won silver medal behind Bolt in the 100 metre at the Moscow World Championships.

  • Athletes’ rights will be protected at Olympics

    Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Thursday that athletes’ rights will be protected at next year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, but that a controversial anti-gay law will remain in place.

    “All the interests and rights will be protected,’’ Mutko told a news conference ahead of the world athletics championships, which start on Saturday in Moscow.

    Mutko asked for everyone to `calm down’ over the issue that has made big waves for the past weeks, saying that “athletes and sports organisations should be relaxed.’’

    “In addition to this law, we have a constitution that guarantees privacy rights. The law is not intended to deprive people of religion, race and sexual orientation,’’ he said.

    Russia has enacted a federal law that bans propaganda of “non-traditional sexual orientation’’ to minors. The law stipulates that foreigners can be arrested and deported if convicted of violating it.

    The Aug. 10 to Aug. 18 athletics world championships — bringing together almost 2,000 athletes from 206 countries – are the first of several major sporting events in Russia, to be followed by the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 football World Cup. The bill triggered international outrage, and some activists have even called for boycotting the Olympics.

  • Ramadan tests German Muslim athletes

    Abstaining from food and water for 15 hours a day, German Muslim athletes are taking the challenge of observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan and keeping their training courses.

    “I always hear the same sentences, like ‘Don’t you need a drink?’ or how can you do it?’ Suleyman Baysal, a 21-year-old Muslim soccer player at YEG Hassel team, told Deutsche Welle.

    “I don’t need to drink right now. Really, I don’t,” he responds as usual.

    Like other German Muslims, the 21-year-old student of English and philosophy is observing Ramadan fasting from sunrise to sunset.

    Baysal breaks the fast with his family around 9 p.m. and sets an alarm for 3 a.m. to drink another litre of water before dawn.

    Baysal coaches a team of nine- and 10-year-olds, and the kids respect his commitment and try to hide water bottles, so he won’t see them drinking.

    “I say, ‘You don’t need to do that – just drink, it doesn’t matter,’ but they are so friendly,” he said.

    In 2010, the German Football Association (DFB), The German Football League (DFL) and the Central Council of Muslims declared that professional soccer players were exempt from fasting during Ramadan.

    Some Muslim stars chose to fast, including Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery from France, who sets inspiration for other athletes.

     

  • Oyo Governor gives out 70 wheel-chairs to Special Athletes

    Oyo Governor gives out 70 wheel-chairs to Special Athletes

    •Special Sports Tourney ends in Ibadan

    OYO STATE took a giant leap towards the developments of Special Sports in the State with the sucsessful hosting of the the 2nd Oyo State Special Sports Competition which was held at the Lekan Salami Stadium organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

    The Governor who was represented at the 3-day tourney that ended on Friday inside the main-bowl of Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasigba Ibadan by his Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Dapo Lam-Adesina said people with special needs will not be left out in the fast-paced Sports development train in the State.

    Close to 200 special athletes from eight zones of the State participated in events which include deaf soccer, wheel chair table tennis, para soccer, power lifting, athletics and others. Apart from medals and trophies that were handed out to various individual winners and team sports champions in various categories of events, more than seventy wheel chairs were handed out to some of the athletes in a bid to alleviate the pains and ease movement of physically challenged sports men and women in the State.

    The Commissioner in his remark after the event said the state is the proud owner of the first Gold medalist for Nigeria in the last London Olympics, in person of Yakubu Adesokan and the State cannot but to consolidate on such great achievement by ensuring that more potential world champions are discovered and nurtured to stardom while promising that the next edition of the competition will be even bigger and better.

    Special athletes that benefitted from the government’s good gesture were full of thanks to the Commissioner for not forgetting physically challenged athletes and initiating an annual tournament which entered its second edition this year for them.

  • LASG restates commitment to athletes’ employment

    LASG restates commitment to athletes’ employment

    The Lagos State Government has restated its commitment to employ the qualified members of Team Lagos to the 18th National Sports Festival, tagged “Eko 2012,’’ to encourage youths to engage in sports.

    The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Social Development, Dr Abiola Awonuga, said this on Wednesday at the ongoing Lagos State GTBank Principals’ Cup. The Principals’ Cup Competition kicked off on March 23 in five centres at Egan, Igbogbo, Agidingbi, Mushin and Ojo.

    Awonuga told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the measure was to promote the government’s policy of combining education and sports by students.

    “The governor is keen on the policy as a means of continually keeping the youth off the streets. The measure will give youths in the state something to fall back on after their school and active sports days.

    “It will make the students to focus on their education. Apart from being good athletes, the students need to do well in their examinations to be qualified for employment,” she said.

    The sports administrator called on football players to take their studies seriously, while taking part in sports.

    According to her, the perfect combination of the two will guarantee them better opportunities after school.

    “As a social security package, the state will give preference to qualified athletes in its ministries and agencies, to domesticate the noble idea,” she said.

    NAN reports that Lagos State took over 2,000 athletes to Eko 2012 which it hosted. It placed third on the medals table, trailing Delta and Edo, that came first and second, respectively.

  • Wellspring grooms athletes

    Wellspring grooms athletes

    Budding athletes showed off their emerging skills at the seventh annual inter-house sports competition of Wellspring College, Ogba, held at the sports centre of the University of Lagos.

    The sprint and relay races, as well as the fun sack and lime and spoon races, elicited a lot of excited from pupils, teachers and parents, who cheered their house representatives.

    The Invited Schools relay races for senior boys and girls were no less interesting.

    Speaking on the importance of sports to the wellbeing of the pupils, Principal of the College, Mrs Oluwayemisi Oloriade, canvassed for comprehensive teaching and practice of sporting events in schools as part of the process towards grooming complete students.

    She decried the gradual abandonment of sports in basic schools probably as a result of the dearth of facilities or available land space. She called to mind the recent triumph of the country’s Super Eagles in the Africa Cup of Nations football meet. She noted that the encomiums and monetary gifts showered on the team should encourage parents and school owners to organises sporting activities for their pupils.

    “Apart from the material value, it is undeniable that the best form of education for a child is one that not only develops his cognitive and emotional domains but also tends to his psychomotor domain. The three ensure a thoroughly bred youth, who is not only knowledgeable, and disciplined; but also healthy; a youth who will, in the future be able to steer the course of a country,” she said.

    At the end of the competition, Favour house topped the medals table with 15 gold medals, 12 silver and six bronze; Goodness House followed with 14 gold medals, 12 silver medals and eight bronze; while Praise House came third with eight gold, nine silver, and 16 bronze medals.

     

  • Ajimobi rewards Adesokan, athletes to Eko Sports Festival

    Ajimobi rewards Adesokan, athletes to Eko Sports Festival

    IN line with Senator Abiola Ajimobi’s Transformational Agenda to encourage excellent performance and appreciate outstanding talents that have done the state proud in sports, Oyo State government has financially rewarded the state contingents to the 18th National Sports Festival.

    The Reward and Reception for the medal winning athletes took place at the Lekan salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan and was attended by dignitaries in the state including the Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi.

    Ajimobi praised the athletes for making the state proud and for displaying the spirit of pacesetting by winning the first gold medal at the ‘EKO 2012′.

    He commended the Commissioner for Youth and Sports for his vibrancy in the development of sports in the state and also appreciated the efforts of the Oyo State Sports’ Council, Sports officials, coaches and the entire sports family.

    The Governor further stated that the purpose of the reward is basically to fulfil his promise when the festival started and also to motivate and encourage Athletes that the state would strive hard to recognise and reward outstanding and excellent performances.

    Athletes that came back with gold medals smiled home with N750,000.00, Silver medallists were rewarded with cash prizes of N500.000.00 while bronze medallists N350,000.00 respectively.

    World record breaker at 2012 London Paralympics, Yakubu Adesokan also got a cash reward of N4 million and a slot to Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca) while his coach was rewarded with N2 Million.

    Last year, the Oyo State Government also rewarded its athletes to the Port Harcourt 2011 National Sports Festival. It turned out to be a good motivating factor for the contingents at EKO 2012.

    Oyo state Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr. Adedapo Lam-Adesina described the Oyo State Governor as a sports loving Governor who has deemed it fit to encourage Oyo sportsmen and women in all ramification.

    It should be recalled that the state gave N 500,000.00 to gold medalists as against N300,000.00 and gave them N750,000.00 on Friday, N350,000.00 to silver medalists as against N200,000.00 and gave them N500,000.00 and N150,000.00 to bronze medalists as against N100,000.00 and gave them N350,000.00 respectively and It is indeed an awesome thing that the ‘EKO 2012′ Athletes’ Reward would outstand that of ‘PORT HARCOURT 2011’.

    The State Government also rewarded Yakubu Adesokan with a sum of 4 million naira and a slot to Hajj (Pilgrimage) and also rewarded his coach with 2 Million naira.

  • Paralympian urges NSC to prioritise athletes’ welfare

    Paralympian urges NSC to prioritise athletes’ welfare

    A Paralympian, Silver Ezeikpe, on Wednesday in Lagos appealed to the National Sports Commission (NSC) to ensure adequate welfare for athletes, to entice the young ones to sports.

    Ezeikpe said that if an athlete of his standing was poor, the young ones would not aspire to be in sports.

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that “as a para-athlete, I have competed in two Paralympics and three All Africa Games (AAG), yet I have nothing to show for it. How then can aspiring younger athletes desire to represent the country in international competitions?

    “So, it will not be a wrong idea if the NSC can ensure that athletes are adequately catered for during their active days and when they retire,” he said.

    The gold medallist said that talented athletes were in the country but needed exposure to enhance their performance as athletes.

    “We have talented athletes but the problem is that they are not exposed through regular international competitions. Thus, they do not get to enhance their performance,” Ezeikpe added.