The President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, has appealed to Nigerian athletes participating in the ongoing World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, to go for medals.
Okowa, who spoke at the team’s Park Inn hotel, Radisson, in Budapest, on Monday, said that the athletes have given their best so far in the championships, but appealed to them to put in more efforts for Nigeria to celebrate a medal in Budapest.
“You have done well, but we need medals, even if it is a bronze,” Okowa said. “Getting to the finish line is good, but it won’t count as medals. So, for those of you who are yet to compete, I appeal to you to have it at the back of your mind that Nigerians back home are waiting to celebrate medals. You can do it. And for those who have completed, I salute you for the efforts you put in. We appreciate you,” Okowa stated.
Meanwhile, thousands of fans stormed the Budapest stadium, yesterday to cheer World Record holder, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, who started training on Monday morning for the defence of her 200m hurdles title.
Amusan will begin her title defence at 6:12pm on Tuesday at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest.
The fans cheered every move Amusan made during her training Monday morning.
The 26 year old was cleared to compete last Thursday after the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), freed her from a Whereabouts Failures charge.
Amusan has been drawn to run from lane four, just outside Olympics bronze medal winner Megan Tapper of Jamaica, in the fifth and final heat of the first round. The reigning Nigerian, African,
The Commonwealth and Diamond League champions will be seeking to be one of the four automatic qualifiers for the semifinals.
The world record holder will be looking to successfully defend her title to complete a successful defence of all five titles she has won from national, continental and world levels.
At this stage last year, Amusan started her campaign to immortality with a 12.40 African record before smashing the 12.20 world record set by Kendra Harrison in 2016 with an incredible 12.12 run.
She completed her astonishing run with an historic gold medal in the final, running a wind-aided 12.06 to become the first Nigerian world outdoor champion.
