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EXCLUSIVE Interview with TOSIN OKE, Nigeria’s Defending C’wealth & African Triple Jump Champion!

1 Aug

TOSIN OKE, Defending Commonwealth Games & African Triple Jump Champion, speaks EXCLUSIVELY to MAKING OF CHAMPIONS following yet another National Title at the Nigerian Trials in Calabar!  

Tosin, Congratulations! You just won the National Championships with a jump of 17.21m – though the distance is not valid for record purposes as it was assisted by a 2.4m/s wind, it does equal the 3rd best jump of your career, and just short of your PB of 17.23m. How are you feeling about the distance and the win?

 I can’t say I feel good; I feel more that since it’s the Commonwealth Games and African Championships year, it’s very important to be in top shape, so I’m getting into top shape.

 The announcer said this was your seventh national title. Is that the accurate figure?

 It’s five or six. Last year was very tricky. I had a few technical difficulties. The boards weren’t working last year and so I had a few problems. Even though I jumped the farthest, I didn’t win. This is my fifth title.

 How will you rate your performance so far this season? Are you satisfied?

 I tend to reflect on the season at the end and then make improvements for the future, so it’s too early to say. If I retain my Commonwealth title, it will be a success and if I retain my African title, it will be a huge success. Those are the markers for my season; I’m not really interested in Silver or Bronze. I’d like to get GOLD medals; that’s what I do all this work for and that’s how I will work out how good my season is.

 As reigning Commonwealth and African champion, what are you looking forward to in Glasgow and Marrakech? Are you under any form of pressure?

 I don’t suffer from any pressure to be honest. Obviously I do a lot of social work in the UK; I go to schools and try to inspire the young ones to be as good as they can be, so it will be nice to go there with four gold medals I think. That will be a nice thing but at the same time it is an important year for Nigeria and for me. At my age I just take every day as it comes and hope to do better each day, so we’ll see.

You’ve hit form at the right time. What do you feel about your chances of defending your Commonwealth Games title?

 I’m not a prophet like many Nigerians so I can’t predict what’s going to happen; I’m not an evangelist or anything like that. I’m just going to keep training well and stay focused and I’m going to see what happens.

 Quite a few men have gone over 17 metres this season but none really amongst the Commonwealth nation athletes. Surely that should be positive for your chances?

 Well it could be a factor if you are a statistician, but I’m not a statistician so I’d rather not make assumptions. I just like to focus on myself and try and do as best as I can.

Which opponents are you watching out for at the Commonwealth Games?

 I’m not watching out for anyone. This year I’m focused on myself solely and I think that’s the most important thing in Track and Field. When you start looking at others, you start assuming that they may do this or that and it distracts you from your own game, so I’m focused on myself.

Earlier this season at another meet in Morocco you beat some of the big names in the sport, including Phillips Idowu. Did you consider it a major achievement or do you just feel that this is your time to shine and you’re going to make the most of it?

 I don’t know if this is my time to shine so I have no idea since I’m not a prophet like a lot of my Nigerian brothers and sisters. The church of Tosin Oke has no members. We turn up to the track and jump as far as we can jump and if we win, we win. This year I have a lot to prove that I can get back to where I’m supposed to be. I’m just trying to fulfill that promise.

 Great! Let’s do a quick flashback. Since you switched over to Team Nigeria from Team GB, you’ve won GOLD medals at everything; African Championships twice, All-African Games and Commonwealth Games. What led to your decision about switching from Great Britain to Nigeria in the first place?

 Well it’s in the past; I don’t really care about it. I always look forward and I’m learning to look back in my career when I retire, so you will have to ask me that question after Rio and then maybe we can talk about it then. In the meantime what I focus on is Nigeria; doing my country proud and doing myself proud.

 Word has it that you fell out with Team GB selectors after they controversially left you out of their 2007 World Championship team. With all the GOLD medals you’ve won for Team Nigeria since then, do you feel vindicated by all your success during your time in Nigeria’s colours?

 I don’t really care; it’s irrelevant. The past is irrelevant now; what matters is the future and trying to continue to win medals in the future. That’s my focus. It makes no difference now.

Final question for you. You mentioned the Olympic Games in Rio. You are 33 now so you must be coming to the twilight of your career. Is the Olympic Games the last big event for Tosin Oke?

 Well if you think about it I’m 33 but my Nigerian age must be about 23 so that means I’ve got a lot of time, so I’ll be here for another 15 years I think! But on a serious note I definitely want to do another Olympic Games for Nigeria but we will see. I take it year by year so we will see.

 Fantastic! After finishing seventh in the final the last time around at the London Olympics, we hope you can get a medal in Rio!

 Tosin Oke will go in Group A of the Men’s Triple Jump Qualifying Round on Friday (Aug 1st) from 8.55pm, with Nigeria No. 2 Olu Olamigoke in Group B.

If they are amongst the Top 12 jumpers in qualifying, they will progress to the Final, at 7.10pm on Saturday (Aug 2nd) – DON’T MISS IT!

 

Tosin Oke collecting his GOLD medal in the Triple Jump at the 2014 Nigerian Trials!

Tosin Oke collecting his GOLD medal in the Triple Jump at the 2014 Nigerian Trials!

 

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Brume comes of age as she claims Long Jump GOLD! Okagbare’s absence is “Blessing in Disguise”…

1 Aug

Ese Brume became Nigeria’s new Long Jump sensation on Thursday night as she jumped to a distance 0f 6.56m to claim the Long Jump crown at the ongoing Commonwealth Games! England’s Jazmin Sawyers was second with 6.54m while Canada’s Christabel Netty placed third. One of the favourites of the competition and home girl, Shara Proctor (C’wealth No.3) had to pull out of the event after picking up an injury while attempting her first jump. Despite only qualifying for the final in 12th place with a 6.29m jump, Brume’s went into Silver medal position with 6.43m in her very first jump in the final. Her winning jump of 6.56m came in Round 3 and she subsequently did not relinquish the lead again!

Ese Brume on the podium, celebrating her C'wealth GOLD in the Long Jump!

Ese Brume on the podium, celebrating her C’wealth GOLD in the Long Jump!

Even though Brume came into the Games as Nigeria’s 2014 National Champion, not much was expected from her following a surprisingly out-of-sorts performance at the World Junior Championships in Eugene last week, where she failed to qualify for the final, only able to record one valid leap of 5.18m. As such, the Commonwealth GOLD medal performance represents a dramatic turnaround in just a few days for an athlete who was touted as a possible World Junior Champion but suffered the ignominy of finishing bottom of her qualifying group at those championships. Whatever the reasons behind that performance were, all is now forgotten! With Brume becoming the Commonwealth CHAMPION this early in her career, she has announced her arrival to the world with a bang, much like Okagbare did in winning an Olympic Bronze in the same event at Beijing ’08!

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Speaking of Okagbare, most will have assumed that the Long Jump GOLD was out of Nigeria’s reach following her opting out of the event for the 200m. But in hindsight it would seem that Okagbare’s absence was actually a Blessing in Disguise (no pun intended)! It allowed Brume the opportunity to compete with and triumph over several good, evenly-matched jumpers at similarly early stages of their careers, for the most part. Brume will now be in a prime position to follow Okagbare in developing into as world-class athlete over the next few years. As with Blessing, will we see Ese eventually diversify into the sprints? With her elegant frame and current PB of 11.80s in the 100m set in the domestic Golden League this year, we would not bet against her one day making serious waves on the global sprint scene!

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Ese Brume first came into national reckoning after winning the Long Jump at the 2012 National Sports Festival in Lagos, as well as two silver medals in the triple jump and high jump! She also scooped a silver medal for Nigeria during last year’s African Junior Championships in Mauritius!

Ese Brume at the Nigerian Trials in Calabar, on her way to winning the 2014 National Title

Ese Brume at the Nigerian Trials in Calabar, on her way to winning the 2014 National Title

 

 

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Okagbare strikes 200m GOLD on Terrific Thursday for Team Nigeria!

1 Aug

It was a glorious night for Team Nigeria on Thursday at Hampden Park in Glasgow as TWO GOLD medals were won in Athletics in the space of 15 minutes of each other, first with Ese Brume claiming a brilliant GOLD medal in the Long Jump, and Blessing Okagbare taking to the track immediately after to complete a dominant Commonwealth sprint double, as she triumphed in the 200m in a time of 22.25s to add to the 100m title she won on Monday! Team England occupied the 2nd, 3rd and 4th as Jodie Williams, Bianca Williams and Anyika Onuora all set new PBs, with the Jamaicans surprisingly occupying three of the last four positions for a change:

Blessing started the 200m as the overwhelming championship favourite, going by her standing as the No.1 in the Commonwealth with a PB of 22.23s this season, as well as being the Diamond Race leader. She dominated the heats on with the fastest time (22.99s) and was phenomenal in the semi-final where she won comfortably in 22.43s – she looked in the kind of form that could possibly break the Games Record (22.20s) or even the African Record (22.07s). Though she was unable to get the Games Record as she did in the 100m, winning her first global titles in such dominant fashion has truly re-affirmed Blessing’s pedigree as a possible future World and Olympic Champion.

The future certainly looks bright for Blessing, who is still No. 3 on Nigeria’s all-time list for the 200 metres, behind Mary Onyali (22.07s) and Falilat Ogunkoya (22.22s). She will certainly have plenty of opportunities in the years to come to become Nigeria’s and Africa’s fastest ever over the 200m, and we can now look forward with excitement towards the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Olympics. Okagbare’s existing and emerging rivalries are set to make the women’s sprints a tantalising prospect over the next two years – will Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce rediscover the form that saw her win the sprint double at the World Championships last year? Will USA’s Tori Bowie, the fastest woman in the world this year in both sprints continue her phenomenal progression, having only just recently switched from the Long Jump? Exciting times lay ahead!

On Friday and Saturday, Blessing will most likely return to the track as part of Nigeria’s 4×100 team, in a quest to grab Team Nigeria’s first global sprint relay medal since the Beijing ’08 Olympics! A quartet which included Okagbare and Gloria Asumnu came within a hundredth of a second of winning a Bronze medal at the inaugural World Relays in the Bahamas in May, and they will be looking to go at least one better at these Games! Can she lead Team Nigeria to another medal before the week runs out? We won’t have long to find out!

 

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Team Nigeria Guide to 2014 CWG Athletics – DAY 5 (Thursday July 31st)

31 Jul

Here’s the full schedule of ALL Team Nigeria Athletes competing in Track & Field DAY FIVE (Thursday July 31st) at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. You can catch this LIVE on SuperSports 4, OR follow Making of Champions’ LIVE TWEETS and POSTS throughout the day – stay tuned!

 

Women’s 200m semis

18.07pm: Heat 1 – Blessing Okagbare (NGR. No.1, C’wealth No.1) vs Jodie Williams (ENG, C’wealth No.4) and Anneisha McLaughlin (JAM, C’wealth No.6)

18.13pm: Heat 2 – Dominique Duncan (NGR, C’wealth No.10) vs Schllionie Calvert (JAM, C’wealth No. 13)

 

Women’s Long Jump 

19.15pm: Final – Ese Brume (NGR. No.1, C’wealth No.3) vs Shara Proctor (ENG, C’wealth No.2) and Christabel Netty (CAN, C’wealth No.4)

 

Men’s 400m Hurdles

20.15pm: Final – Chris Morton (NGR. No1, C’wealth No.13) vs Cornel Fredericks (RSA, C’wealth No.1) and Roxroy Cato (JAM, C’wealth No.2)

 

Women’s 400m Hurdles

20.25pm: Amaka Ogoegbunam (NGR. No.1, C’wealth No. 20) vs Kaliese Spencer (JAM, C’wealth No.1), Eilidh Child (SCO, C’wealth No.2) and Wenda Theron (RSA, C’wealth No.4) 

 

Women’s 200m final @ 20.45pm

 

Women’s 100m Hurdles Round 1 

21.35pm: Heat 1 – Ugonna Ndu (NGR No.2, C’wealth No.31) vs Indira Spence (JAM, Joint C’wealth No.6) and Kierre Beckles (BAR, Joint C’wealth No.6)

21.49pm: Heat 3 – Nicole Denby (NGR No.2, C’wealth No. 23) vs Sally Pearson (AUS, C’wealth No.1) and Monique Morgan (JAM, C’wealth No.4)

CWG Athletics Day 4 RECAP: Okagbare & Duncan through to 200m Semis; Brume, Morton & Ogoegbunam make Finals

31 Jul

African sprint sensation, Blessing Okagbare comfortably led her heat in the women’s 200m to qualify for Thursday’s semi-finals, along with compatriot, Dominique Duncan whose race drew the curtain on Nigeria’s participation on Day 4 of track and field events at the Hampden Park Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.

Okagbare looked supremely comfortable on Wednesday night, easing down some distance before the finish line to a time of 22.99s in Heat 1, leaving her competitors trailing in her wake. Duncan, representing Nigeria in an individual event for the first time, posted 23.89s in Heat 6 to place third behind Canada’s Kelly Hyacinthe (23.29) and Jade Bailey of Barbados (23.75).

Expectations are rife that Blessing is all but set to add the 200m title to the 100m won on Monday, when the final comes up on Thursday evening. She will first have qualify from in Heat 1 of the Semis at 6pm, while Duncan competes in Heat 2. Duncan has the fastest PB of 22.82 in her heat but will have to significantly improve on her first round time to be assured of a place in the final, as she faces Jamaica’s Schillonie Calvert (PB 22.88) who post the 3rd fastest time of 23.14s in the heats.

Nigeria’s men did not fare as well in the 200m as the duo of Seye Ogunlewe and former 100m national champion, Obinna Metu crashed out in the heats earlier on Wednesday. 22-year old Ogunlewe finished in 4th in Heat 2, which was won by Lesotho’s Mosito Lehata in 20.68s, while the more experienced Metu also finished 4th in Heat 10 in 21.19s. Nigeria’s 200m Champion Divine Oduduru wasn’t entered in the event, following his remarkable wind-aided 20.25s run to win Silver at the World Juniors in Oregon last week.

In the women’s long jump, Ese Brume’s leap of 6.29m in the qualifying round ensured her safe passage in 12th place to Thursday’s final, where she will have to contend with England’s Shara Proctor and Canada’s Christabel Netty, 2nd and 4th respectively in the Commonwealth this year – Brume’s Season’s Best of 6.68m at the National Trials puts her as No.3. Brume’s performance in Glasgow so far is a huge improvement from the World Juniors last week, where she was able to record only one jump of 5.18m.

Nigeria’s No.1 in the men’s 400m hurdles Chris Morton qualified as one of the fastest losers in his heat to make Thursday’s final. He returned 49.62s in 3rd and has an outside chance of claiming a Bronze medal, with World Champion Jehue Gordon and South Africa’s Cornel Fredericks (No. 1 in C’wealth Rankings this year with 48.42s) the favourites for GOLD and Silver in the final! In the women’s category, national champion, Amaka Ogoegbunam will run in a strong field which includes World Leader Kaliese Spencer of Jamaica who has posted 53.41s this year, in comparison to the Nigeria’s No.1’s time of 56.77s.

 

C’wealth Games Athletics Day 3 RECAP: Abugan finishes 5th in 400m as Montsho is dethroned

30 Jul

Nigeria’s 400 women’s champion, Folashade Abugan was denied a place on the podium as the Jamaicans made a clean sweep of all the medals up for grabs in the 400m at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday night, while Botswana’s Amantle Montsho who came to the Game as the defending champion was also denied a medal as she finished in 4th.

Abugan returned a time of 52.33s while the while newly crowned champion, Stephanie McPherson posted an impressive 50.67s, with compatriots Novlene Williams-Mills and Christine Day following with 50.86s and 51.09s respectively. Montsho just missed out on the Bronze, finishing in 51.10s.

In the men’s 110 Hurdles as Alex-Al-Ameen’s time of 13.77s couldn’t win him a medal as he finished in 7th. The 25-year old, who was the runner-up at the Nigerian Trials, had earlier qualified for the final as one of the fastest losers having placed 3rd in his heat behind eventual winner, Andrew Riley (13.47s) of Jamaica and Shane Brathwaite (13.54s) of Barbados. 2014 Nigerian Champion Tyrone Akins had crashed out in the heats earlier in the day, finishing in 4th with 13.75s while Nigeria No. 3 Martins Ogieriakhi who dominated the Domestic AFN Golden League this season finished in 6th in his heat in 14.13s.

Sean Obinwa competed in the First Round of the men’s 800m and also failed to qualify for the next stage as he finished 5th with a time of 1:50.59  in a heat that was won by South Africa’s Andre Olivier in 1:47.93s. In the men’s Long Jump Qualifying Round, the duo of Hamed Suleman and Samson Idiata could not sail through to the final as the former recorded No Jump while the latter made a leap of 7.57m which wasn’t adequate to see him through.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom though as national 400m Hurdles Champion, Amaka Ogoegbunam qualified as one of the fastest losers in the heats to secure a place in Thursday’s final. Ogoegunam who is making her debut to the Comonwealth Games, returned a time of 56.85s in Heat 3 behind Comonwealth No1, Kaliese Spencer (55.45s) and Australia’s Lauren Wells (55.79s).

 

Blessing Okagbare opts out of Long Jump to chase 200m GLORY @ C’wealth Games!

30 Jul

Blessing Okagbare fans could well be in for a treat and a complete spectacle in the women’s 200m at the Commonwealth Games, as the newly crowned 100m Commonwealth Champion is the red hot favourite to complete the sprint double with the 200 metre crown on Thursday night! Such is Blessing’s class beyond the rest of the Commonwealth field in the 200m, that it may simply be Blessing versus the clock. She took Debbie Ferguson’s 100m Commonwealth Games Record on Monday night, and may just take the same woman’s 200m Games Record (22.20s) on Thursday. The big question is: does Blessing just want the GOLD, or does she want to lay down a marker for years to come, by attacking Mary Onyali’s 18-year-old 200m African Record of 22.07 seconds?

Okagbare has been imperious form in the 200m this year, having made it her event of focus recently, despite starting out as a long jumper and then a 100m sprinter. She is 2nd fastest in the world this year with a PB of 22.23s, behind USA’s Tori Bowie (22.18s), she holds FOUR of the 10 fastest times this season and is leading the 200m Diamond Race. Her closest Commonwealth  competitor is Anthonique Strachan, the 2012 Double World Junior Champion and 9th fastest in the world this year with 22.50s, but she has inexplicably not been entered for the 200m – one imagines it could only be due to injury:

2014 CWG Womens 200 list FINAL

That leaves her main threat once again most likely to come from the Jamaicans – McLaughlin, Henry-Robinson and Calvert, who are 6th, 11th and 13th respectively in the Commonwealth this season, but ALL half a second slower than Okagbare. England’s Jodie Williams is the fastest Commonwealth athlete after Blessing competing in the 200m, after setting a PB of 22.60s this season, and while Williams will be a home nations favourite for a medal, she will almost certainly be fighting with the Jamaicans for Silver and Bronze!

An interesting sub-plot is Dominique Duncan’s first outing in an individual event for Nigeria, after switching from Team USA and coming within a hundredth of second to 4x100m Bronze at the World Relays with Team Nigeria! She’s No. 10 in the Commonwealth this year with a PB of 22.82s in April, and if she can replicate that she could also be in amongst the medals. That said, she only ran 23.91s in placing 3rd at the Nigerian Trials in June, so it will be interesting to see what kind of form she is coming into the Games with!

Some Okagbare fans will be disappointed to learn that she opted NOT to compete in the Long Jump at these Games – her compatriot Ese Brume competed in the Heats for that event on Wednesday morning, qualifying for the finals which will take place on Thursday evening, in between the women’s 200 metres semis and finals! From a scheduling point of view, it would have been virtually impossible for Okagbare to attempt TWO 200m races and SIX jumps in the Long Jump on the same night! She has taken the wisest decision, as the sprint double will be the far more widely recognised feat than the 100m and Long Jump combination!

One might recall that last year, Blessing failed to win a 100m medal in the World Championship final because she had taken 6 jumps the night before to win Long Jump Silver, and didn’t have enough time to recover to successfully execute two rounds of the 100m the next day. Clearly, the ‘scheduling gods’ are not working in her favour – global meet organisers will have to accord her the same privilege that they once showed to the likes of Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson, arranging their schedules around these superstars, if we’re ever going to see her attempt to go for THREE individual medals at major competitions!

Blessing is already Africa’s fastest woman ever in the 100m after smashing Glory Alozie’s 14-year-old record last year. The big question on Thursday will be, does she want a ‘Double Portion’ and take the 200m African Record as well? With her 10.85 second 100-metre speed in awesome display on Monday, something tells us that if Blessing decides she wants to re-write the 200 metre history books on Thursday night, she just might!

MoC PREDICTION: Barring injury, Nigeria’s favourite daughter Blessing Okagbare will WIN 200m GOLD on Thursday night, and could get the Commonwealth Games Record of 22.20s, but she might not yet be ready to break Mary Onyali’s African Record (22.07s). Even if she doesn’t get the record, we may  be about to witness the BIGGEST EVER winning margin in a global 200m final, since a certain Usain Bolt, ofcourse!

Dominique Duncan should make the final of the 200 metres, and getting a medal would be a huge boost for the 24-year-old. But can she put three rounds of 200 metres together in two days and run fast enough in the final to be in medal contention? The honest truth is that we have not seen enough of her to make a firm prediction on that just yet!

Round 1 of the Commonwealth Games 200 metres kicks off TONIGHT (Wednesday), with Blessing Okagbare in Heat 1 at 9.15pm and Dominique Duncan in Heat 6 at 9.45pm – DON’T MISS IT!

The semi-finals start at 6.07pm on Thursday, with the Final shortly after at 8.45pm!

 

 

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Blessing Okagbare’s path to the 100m Commonwealth GOLD – Round 1, Semi & FINAL Races!!

29 Jul

Re-live Blessing Okagbare’s path to Commonwealth 100m Glory last night by checking out ALL her runs, from the Heats to the Final! Effortless ease in the Heats and Semis, incredible composure in the Final!

HEATS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rDgBVw5rng

SEMI-FINAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HV_j1KcdV0

FINAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRd5cPR2Rro

 

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Nigeria’s Americans fail to get 100m, 400m & 110m Hurdles COMMONWEALTH Medals – Why did we recruit them again?

29 Jul

Nigeria’s hopes of securing a Commonwealth medal in the men’s 100m ended last night at Hampden Park in Glasgow, as the country’s sole finalist Mark Jelks finished in fifth place in 10.17s. The title was won by Jamaica’s Kemar Bailey-Cole who stormed to gold in 10.00s flat and was closely followed by England’s Adam Gemili in 10.10s, to the clear delight of himself and the home crowd, while another Jamaican, Nickel Ashmeade got the bronze in 10.12s.

This is Jelk’s first outing for Nigeria, having recently switched allegiance from the US and though the 30-year-old was hoping for a podium finish, his efforts are nonetheless commendable, going by the fact that he was the only African in the final that boasted of three Jamaicans, amongst others. Jelks, who emerged National Champion at the Nigeria’s trials earlier this year was entered to the 100m alongside another newly acquired American athlete, 33-year-old Monzavous Edwards who finished 2nd in the trials, and Ogho-Oghene Egwero, 3rd at the trials. The duo however fell by the wayside, with Egwero finishing 8th in his semi-final with 10.40s while Edwards didn’t fare much better, trailing in 7th in his semi with 10.30s. Jelks had qualified for the final as one of the fastest losers in the semis where he posted a time of 10.13s.

Mark 'Amuju' Jelks, 2014 Nigerian 100m Champion, recently switched allegiances from Team USA

Mark ‘Amuju’ Jelks, 2014 Nigerian 100m Champion, recently switched allegiances from Team USA

In the absence of some of the tournament favourites and leading names such as Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson, No. 1 in the Commonwealth this year with 9.82s but failed to progress to the final, and Jamaica’s Nesta Carter (SB 9.98s), Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and the big man himself Usain Bolt, one would have expected the newly converted athletes to have at least made an impact, going by the controversy that has trailed their acquisition of the Nigerian passport and their subsequent selection to Team Nigeria. One of them, Robert Simmons, did not even need to appear at the Nigerian Trials to suit up for his new country yesterday in the 400 metres, thus calling the whole selection process into question. Incidentally, he failed to finish his 400m heat, pulling up half way through due to injury!

Robbert Simmons, formerly of Team USA, now of Team Nigeria!

Robbert Simmons, formerly of Team USA, now of Team Nigeria!

In the 110m Hurdles on Tuesday morning, another American recruit, 28-year-old Tyron Akins, crashed out of the 110m Hurdles after finishing 4th in Heat 2 in a time of 13.75s. Akins won the Nigerian title at the trials in June, and at his best about 6 years ago he was a 13.25s runner. Former Team GB athlete Alex Al-Ameen, who qualifies to for the Green Passport by virtue of his Nigerian father, just scraped through to the final, qualifying as one of the fastest loser’s from Heat 1 in a time of 13.71s. As we predicted yesterday in our analysis, Akins and Al-Ameen were likely competing for one fastest loser spot, and that proved to be the case. Though Al-Ameen’s chances of making an impact in the final are slim to none, the 25-year-old should be encouraged as an athlete who COULD improve for Team Nigeria over the next 5 years!

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All this then begets the question we asked at the start of the week – were any of the recruited Americans really good enough to win Commonwealth GOLD in the first place? And if they are not good enough at THIS LEVEL, what on earth will happen when Team USA is in the mix, and Jamaica’s A-team return for the World Championships and Olympics in the next 2 years? Does Nigeria really need to adopt this strategy of recruiting older American athletes rather than developing our own future stars? Have they really justified their inclusion into the team? Should we not have allowed the likes of 22-year old Seye Ogunlewe, Nigeria’s best young sprint talent, the opportunity to experience individual 100m sprinting at the Commonwealth Games, while grooming him for years to come?

The jury is out on this one, but they have very nearly reached a verdict already, after just THREE days of Athletics action at the Games. The last of Nigeria’s  American recruits is Nichole Denby, who competes in the 100m Hurdles on Thursday. Can she fare any better? We won’t have long to wait to find out.

 

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Team Nigeria Guide to 2014 CWG Athletics – DAY 3 (Tuesday July 29th)

29 Jul

Here’s the full schedule of ALL Team Nigeria Athletes competing in Track & Field DAY THREE (Tuesday July 29th) at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. You can catch this LIVE on SuperSports 4, OR follow Making of Champions’ LIVE TWEETS and POSTS throughout the day – stay tuned!

 

Men’s Long Jump Qualifying Round

10.05am: GROUP A – Hammed Suleman (NGR No.2) vs Greg Rutherford (ENG, C’wealth No.1) and Henry Frayne (AUS, C’wealth No.4)

10.05am: GROUP B – Samson Idiata (NGR No.1, C’wealth No.11) vs Zarck Visser (RSA, C’wealth No.2)

 

Men’s 110 Hurdles ROUND 1

10.55am: Heat 1 – Alex Al-Ameen (NGR No.2, C’wealth No. 13) vs Andrew Riley (JAM, C’wealth No.2)

11.01am: Heat 2 – Tyrone Akins (NGR No.1, C’wealth No.14) vs Hansle Parchment (JAM, C’wealth No.1)

11.07am: Heat 3 – Martins Ogieriakhi (NGR No. 3, C’wealth No. 18) vs Wayne C. Davis II (TTO, C’wealth No.3) and William Sharman (ENG, C’wealth No.4)

See Making of Champions’ men’s 110m Hurdles Commonwealth Rankings and analysis here!

 

Women’s 400m Hurdles ROUND 1      

12:29pm: Heat 3 – Amaka Ogoegbunam (NGR No.1, C’wealth No.20) vs Kaliese Spencer (JAM, C’wealth No.1)

 

Men’s 800m ROUND 1    

12:57pm: Heat 2 – Sean Obinwa (NGR) vs Andre Olivier (RSA, C’wealth No.8)

 

Women’s 400m FINAL

8:30pm: Folashade Abugan (NGR No.1, C’wealth No. 7) vs Novlene Williams-Mills (JAM, C’wealth No.1), Christine Day (JAM, C’wealth No.2) and Amantle Montsho (BOT, C’wealth No.3)

Can Abugan make any impact in a loaded 400m final tonight?

 

Men’s 110m Hurdles Final @ 8.45pm – Can any of Nigeria’s Three in the Heats this morning make the finals? We won’t have long to find out!

 

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