The Chief Executive Officer of the Elite Athletes Development and Performance Board, Yussuf Alli, has explained why Team Nigeria is going to the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships with a “lean team”.
The World Athletics Championships will take place in Tokyo, Japan, from 13 to 21 September, with only 15 athletes registered to compete for Nigeria.
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“The era of jamboree and going to major games and championships with a huge team that won’t benefit Team Nigeria in the long or the short run is over. That is one of the issues that the Performance Board has been asked to fix by the NSC.” Mr Alli said in a press statement on Monday.
Expanding on what he meant by long- and short-term benefits, Mr Alli explained that athletes who will benefit Team Nigeria in the short run are those who, based on their ranking and performances this season, have what it takes to reach the final of their events.
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In the final of athletics events, Mr Alli noted, anything can happen. Those who will benefit Team Nigeria in the long run, he added, are young athletes with immense potential who need exposure to big-time competitions in front of massive crowds.
Apart from tough competitors, stage fright also affects athletes’ performances.
Sharing a personal example, Mr Alli revealed that Isaac Akioye took him to the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, fully aware it would take a miracle for him to win a medal, but believing the experience would change his story.
“And the experience I got in Moscow defined my career. Apart from my co-jumpers, the crowd were also competitors, and after Moscow, I mastered the act of competing in front of a huge crowd. Three years later, I became a world champion in Canada, so we are investing in athletes that have what it takes to get to the finals of their sport and young athletes who are future medalists.”
Topping Team Nigeria’s list to Tokyo is world record holder in the 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan, who has been in impressive form this season.
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Shot putter Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, who has a strong chance of making the final and contending for a medal, is number two on the list. He is followed by 400m hurdles sensation Ezekiel Nathaniel, as well as veteran jumper Ese Brume, the African record holder in the long jump with a personal best of 7.17m.
If Brume can rediscover her form in Tokyo — a city that has been a good hunting ground for her — she will almost certainly make the podium.
Also listed by Alli are: Samuel Ogazi (400m), Kayinsola Ajayi (100m), Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons (discus), Prestina Ochonogor (long jump), Obiageri Amaechi (discus), Charles Godfred (long jump), Rosemary Chukwuma (100m), Oyesade Olatoye (hammer), Israel S. Okon (100m), and Chidi Okezie (400m).
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