AFN hopeful as Nigeria’s junior athletes seek glory in Peru

By Gowon Akpodonor

26 August 2024   |   4:28 am

After a near-disastrous outing at Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Nigeria’s junior athletes brought relief to the country by putting up outstanding performances at the World U-20 Athletics Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. The country placed third overall for the first time in history at the championships just a few months after the Games.

 
That historic performance in Kenya in 2021 brought the likes of Favour Ofili, Udodi Onwuzurike, and Godson Brume to the limelight. With Nigerians still lamenting the country’s dismal outing at the Paris 2024 Olympics, junior athletes are embarking on another journey, this time to Lima, Peru, where the World U-20 Athletics Championships will begin on August 28, 2024.
 
Leader of Nigeria’s contingent to Peru, United States -based AFN Performance Director, Victor Okorie, told The Guardian in a telephone chat that he is confident that the young athletes will restore the country’s pride.
 
In Peru, Team Nigeria will feature 15 athletes in 14 events, including 100/200m, long jump, and 400m.  Okorie, who was in Team Nigeria’s delegation to the Paris Olympics, said that the current squad to Peru has tested athletes, who are capable of excelling among world stars. “I am confident these junior athletes will give Nigeria medals. Some of them competed at the just-concluded Paris Olympic Games, and I am sure they will give their best in Peru.”
 
In 2022, Okorie, a former African Games silver medallist, led Team Nigeria to the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, Eugene, USA, where the duo of Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume won gold and silver medals for Nigeria. Amusan set a World Record of 12.12sec at that championships.
 
Ahead of the championships, Okorie said: “I project medals to come in 200m, 400m, long jump and our 4×400m relay. I am very optimistic because we have athletes who are capable of making the podium in Peru.”
 
Unlike the situation at the Nairobi 2021 World Championships, where Nigeria registered many athletes, the situation is different in Peru. Okorie, who is South East zonal representative on the current AFN board, said it is sad that Nigeria registered fewer athletes this time around in Peru 2024, adding that the country should have taken more stars considering AFN’s quest for youth athletics development.

“This is the competition Nigerian junior athletes had done supremely well in the past; talk about the likes of Deji Aliu, Seun Ogunkoya, Francis Obikwelu, Gloria Alozie, etc. They started their international career on high at various world junior championships. Nigeria did so well in 2021 in Kenya,” he said.

 
The reduction in the number of athletes in Peru, notwithstanding, Okorie hinted that the youngsters are in high spirits and ready to compete fairly. AFN sources told The Guardian that seven athletes, two coaches, and an assistant secretary from the federation’s secretariat are already in Peru. Other athletes, who are based in the United States, joined them at the weekend.
  
Meanwhile, World Athletics has listed 400m runner, Ella Onojuvwevwo, among favourites for the gold in Lima.  The 19-year-old Onojuvwevwo is seeking to become the fifth Nigerian teenager to win the women’s 400m event at the World U-20 Athletics Championships.
 
Onojuvwevwo, who was part of Team Nigeria’s 4x400m relay at the Paris Olympics, is the second fastest teenager among the athletes that will file out for the opening round heats of the event at the Estadio Atlético de la Videna, in Lima. Only Czech Republic’s Lurdes Gloria Manuel has run faster this year (50.52) than the Nigerian with USA’s Michaela Mouton (50.96) completing the list of just three athletes who have broken 51 seconds this year.
 
If she wins gold in Peru, Onojuvwevwo will become the fifth Nigerian after Fatimah Yusuf (1990), Olabisi Afolabi (1994), Folashade Abugan (2008), and Imaobong Nse Uko (2021) to win the title. She will also want to win as the fastest Nigerian in the history of the Championships.
 
Another athlete to watch out for in Team Nigeria’s squad to Peru 2024 is 200m runner, Justina Eyakpobeya. She was part of the country’s contingent to Douala 2024 Africa Senior Athletics Championships, and the Paris 2024 Olympics.