With the London Olympic Games starting in 55 days,
OLUFEMI ATOYEBI examines the chances of Team Nigeria
New Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi has refused to be dragged into making a promise on what to expect from Team Nigeria at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He recently said he expected that the effort put into the preparation of the athletes would yield result.
“I cannot stand here and make projections, but we have adequately made effort for a good showing in London, which should yield result,” he said.
Nigeria finished in the 60th position in the last Games held in Beijing with two bronze medals in athletics, a football silver medal and a bronze in taekwondo.
For the London Olympics, the task of surpassing the tiny feat may be too huge. Nigeria will take part in seven sports. They include canoeing, table tennis, taekwondo, wrestling, boxing and athletics.
To prepare for the Games, the Athletic Federation of Nigeria took its athletes to Atlanta for training. They returned to Nigeria this week, while the final trial that will determine the athletes who will appear in London 2012 comes up in Calabar between June 21 and 23. But there are some who will always enjoy the wildcard.
Blessing Okagbare does the long jump and the sprints. In Beijing 2008, she won a bronze medal in long jump and gold in the same event when she competed at the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo. Although she is still the nation’s brightest hope for medals on the tracks, she faces the challenges of out-running the Americans and Jamaicans, who are returning better times.
In the 100m, the 24-year-old’s outdoor personal best remains 11.0 seconds, which was achieved way back in 2010. She is ranked fifth in the world presently in the 100m. Her rivals at the Olympics are Carmelita Jeter of the US, Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica, Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica. Last month, Jeter, who is rated number one in the world, ran 10.81 seconds and 23.31 seconds in 200m last April to put herself in the front for the gold medal.
Campbell-Brown ranks high above Okagbare as well with 10.94 seconds achieved in May during a 100m race and 22.38 seconds in 200m. Baptiste and Fraser-Pryse are seen as contenders for the third position, meaning that based on current form, Okagbare would be doing something extra ordinary to break into the top rank in London.
Gloria Asumnu, who could run in the sprints and relays if she makes the final cut is currently ranked 13th in the world, while Oludamola Osayomi is in the 25th position.
In the long jump, Okagbare holds on to her Beijing Olympics leap of 6.91m. But she could have Funmi Jimoh, a Nigerian girl who could be in London with the US team, to out-jump before equalling her Beijing medal. US athletes are considered contenders for medals in the sport, with Brittany Reese already jumping 7.12m and Janay Deloach jumping 6.79m this year. Compared to Okagbare’s leap of 6.64m in Shanghai this year, a lot needs to be done to finish in the medal zone.
Except there is an upset in Calabar, at the All Nigerian Cross River State Athletic Open Championship, the 4x400m female relay team will have Okagbare, Osayomi, Asumnu and Agnes Osazua. Osazua was in the Beijing relay team that won bronze, but she was replaced with Halimat Ismaila in the final.
Bukola Abogunloko, Margaret Etim, Omolara Omotosho and Ajoke Odumosu have different running skills and timing, but their collective effort and form in about two month’s time will determine how they’ll fare in the 4x400m.
In the men’s team, triple jumper Tosin Oke is ranked 10th in the world. With his current record and statistics, he is ranked outside the medal zone. The 16.82 Oke recorded in Melbourne in March will not compete with Philips Idowu’s 17.31 jump last May in Holland. But Idowu, a Nigerian representing Great Britain is ranked second below US Christian Taylor. There is Will Claye (US), Alexis Copello (Cuba), Benjamin Compaore (France) and Christian Olsson of Sweden, considered to be in top form at the moment.
In the men’s 4×400, Ogho-Oghene Egwrero, Peter Emelezie, Obina Metu and a fourth runner to be decided in Calabar will run the 4x100m. None of them ranks close to Yohan Blakes, Ashafa Powell, Usain Bolt and Nesta Carter, all from Jamaica. There is in-form Justin Gatlin, Walter Dix, Michael Rodgers and Trell Kimmons of the US team. Nigeria’s Egwero ran 21.32 seconds in 200m in an Atlanta meet last month, while Emelezie, ranked 57th now, last recorded 10.08 seconds in the 100m. Bolt, Powell, Carter, Gatlin and some others in the top 10 rankings have sub 10 seconds as standard timing, while Blake, Bolt and other potential medal winners run sub 20 seconds in the 200m.
In the long jump, Stanley Gbagbeke will need to work hard in the next few weeks to out-jump the likes of Aleksandr Menkov of Russia, Mitchell Watt of Australia, Greg Rutherfords of Great Britain, Yahya Berrabah of Morocco, Godfrey Khotso Mokoena of South Africa and even Ngonidzashe Makusha of Zimbabwe.
Nigeria will be represented by only one athlete in canoeing. He is Jonathan Akinyemi, a London-based Nigerian, who won in the men’s K1 slalom category. He is yet to win a global title of the Olympics rank but he beat 2008 Olympic Games bronze medallist, Benjamin Boukpeti of Togo, to pick the sole African ticket during the qualifiers in Bethlehem, South Africa.
In taekwondo, Nigeria has a fair chance of winning a medal with Chika Chukwumerije. He won a bronze in the last Olympics in Beijing and he has been in Korea for training. He would have found it difficult to start early preparation but perhaps being the son of a senator, he had access to funds which he used to travel before the N1.6bn meant for the Games was released to the National Sports Commission.
Nigeria will be represented by four wrestlers in London 2012. They are Boltic Sinivie, Adibo Dick, Amarachi Obiajunwa and Blessing Oborodudu.
Sinivie is a veteran, having been representing Nigeria since 1999 when he attended the All-Africa Games in Johannesburg.
President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Austin Edeze, said wrestling had the most complex qualifying series and having made the cut, there was hope that Nigeria would win in London.
He said, “It took time, energy and lots of training efforts for the athletes to make it. The qualifiers were held in different parts of the world and the good thing is that our wrestlers did not qualify from regional or continental qualifiers.
“They were at world championships, where wrestlers coming to the Olympics met. For them to have made it from such rigid and complex sessions is an advantage to our preparations. Sinivie won at the world championship, while Obiajunwa made it from the Oceania and African qualifiers. They already have a taste of who to meet in London 2012.”
Posts
