The good times appear to be back for Nigeria as far as athletics is concerned and one of the shining lights bringing the new ray of hope is 20-year-old Favour Ashe.
Though Ashe already showed a glimpse of what he is capable of doing while he was honing his skills in the domestic scene, he is now on a higher trajectory with his move to the United States where he is now a student-athlete with the University of Tennessee.
A few days ago, Ashe ran the fastest time in history by any Nigerian athlete in all conditions, racing to a staggering 9.79s (+3.0) to win his 100m heat at the LSU invitational meet in Baton Rouge.
If not for the excessive wind, Ashe’s feat would have instantly become Nigeria’s new national record as it ranks above Olusoji Fasuba’s existing record of 9.85s (+1.7) and Divine Oduduru’s 9.86s (+0.8)
It is also worthy to note that Ashe’s time is the fifth-fastest in all conditions in the NCAA history but the newest sprint star on the Nigerian block is not getting carried away as he insists his best is yet to come.
“I will say that throughout the season so far, I haven’t really even run my best race yet: either it is bad weather or a bad start from the blocks, but I am quite happy that I competed at the LSU invitational.
“I knew it was going to be a good meet, my coach told me to go and execute and that I will be fine, which was exactly what I did,” Ashe was quoted as saying by Making Of Champions.
Speaking on the excessive tailwind that denied him a national record, Ashe says he is motivated to do more and hit even faster times.
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“When I saw the time (9.79s), I was so happy, but when I heard the wind was +3, I was a little a bit sad.
“I am still cool with it though, because I know I’m in a good shape, and running that time wind-aided would have also been a very fast time in a legal wind. So I am happy with it” he added.
Earlier this year, Ashe started the indoor circuits with a bang; announcing himself with a very fast Personal Best (PB) of 6.58s in the 60m.
He then improved his PB to 6.51s at the Indoor National Championships in Birmingham a feat that saw him going joint fourth with Davidson Ezinwa on Nigeria’s all-time list.
Ashe has shown a lot of promise and seeing him on the podium in the months ahead at major meets will not be surprising.
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