Tag: Commonwealth

Team Nigeria is presently basking in the euphoria of a successful outing at the concluded 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow Scotland.

From creating records to producing new talents, the list seems endless as Nigeria hopes to retain the coveted crown won at the 2012 African Championships held in Porto-Novo, Benin Republic. It remains to be seen whether Nigeria athletes will live up to their billings as the defending champions of the event.

However, the country anticipates that her queen of the tracks, Blessing Okagbare, who won two gold medals and a silver medal in Glasgow would continue with the outpour of medals. In Glasgow, Blessing Okagbare broke the Commonwealth Games while power lifters even broke world records. So it was indeed a huge achievement for Team Nigeria in Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Thirty Nigerian athletes left for  Morocco in batches while the President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria(AFN), Solomon Ogba had departed the shores of the country on Friday to Marrakesh to oversee the affairs of the team. Okagbare had convincingly proven her critics wrong when she ran effortlessly to create a new record of 10.85secs at the Games  to emerge as the new record holder of the women’s 100m  at the 2014 Commonwealth Games held  in Glasgow, Scotland.

Okagabare broke Debbie Ferguson’s 12-year record of 10.91 secs. But on another note, few had felt that Okagbare did not have a strong contender in her regular rivals, the Jamaicans who were conspicuously missing at the Games. However athletics buffs were quick to point out that Veronica Campbell did give a good account of herself having run 11.03 secs which was thwarted by Okagbare.

Many were of the opinion that if   Okagbare’s strongest rival, Shirley Ann Frazer pryce had been in attendance, it would still have been no one’s game . At the end of the race, Okagbare proved her dominance on the tracks as she broke a 12-year-old record.

However, at the last Africa championships held in Benin Republic, two years ago, five hundred and sixty-nine athletes from forty-seven African countries had taken part in forty-four events, Okagbare had managed a silver medal owing to injuries sustained. Rudy Zang Milama of Gabon claimed the gold  medal in a time of 11.16secs. In the 200m race, Ivory Coast’s Marie Jose Ta Lou had been crowned the queen of the 200m race in a time of 23.44secs.

It is expected that that this time around, Okagbare should crown all her efforts with the ability to dominate  the African scene by outpacing her African rivals by winning all her races and  possibly create new records on the continent.

In the men’s category, this might prove to be difficult as the country’s male athletes have failed to find their rhythm on the tracks. Would they be able to salvage the little pride left of them on the tracks? It is no news that they have failed to hug success in recent time. Mark Jelks seem to be the only hope for the country. But Coach Saheed Akinpelu, who gives coaching tutorials to most of the country’s  quatermilers, chances that any African country will beat Nigeria is very remote. He was of the opinion that  competition for medals will be tough, especially since this edition of the African Championships also serves as trials for the money spinning IAAF World Cup. The competition will also serve  as preparation to African athletes for the next intercontinental cup which is planned on 13 and 14 September 2014 in Marrakech.

The newest kid on the block, Ese Brume is expected to lift the train in the jumps considering her achievement at the just concluded Commonwealth Games just as Tosin Oke is expected to achieve a greater feat at the championships as the defending champion of the African championships in triple jumps just as Sade Abugan is expected to do the contry proud in the 400m race. Abugan does not have a strong contender this time around as her hottest rival is currently on suspension for drug related offence.

Nigerian coaches are indeed optimistic that most of the medals will come from sprints, relays, jumps, hurdles, quatermiles and throws.

At the 2012 Athletics championship held Porto Novo, Benin Republic, Nigeria had topped the medals table with ten gold, six silver and five bronze medals while Kenya was first runners up with nine gold, nine silver and nine bronze medals. South Africa clinched the third position with six gold, ten silver and eight bronze medals.