Okagbare faces stiff test for 100m Commonwealth GOLD, Asumnu is a possible finalist!

26 Jul

Exactly 20 years ago, one of the country’s most outstanding athletes, Mary Onyali returned a time of 11.06secs to win the women’s 100m at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, and Nigeria’s sprint queen, Blessing Okagbare will be aiming for same as Athletics takes off in Glasgow on Sunday.

However, Okagbare, who is the nation’s brightest prospect at the games, will have her work cut out for her as she goes head-to-head with Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye and Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown in a bid to secure her first Commonwealth Games title two decades after a Nigerian last won the crown.

Compatriot, Damola Osayomi won the 100m in Delhi four years ago but had to be stripped of the medal and banned after her doping test came back positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine, while Natasha Mayers of St. Vincent and the Grenadines was elevated to first position.

Okagbare recently ran a Season’s Best (SB) of 10.97secs at the Monaco Diamond League, but Ahye is unbeaten in the 100m this season, as is  USA’s Tori Bowie, who currently World Leader this year with 10.80secs. Ahye tops the Commonwealth ranking with the world’s second fastest time of 10.85s, while Campbell-Brown follows closely with 10.86s:

2014 CWG Womens 100 list copy

Even though Okagbare comes to the competition with the third fastest time, she could still storm to gold at the Hampden Park on Monday if she is able to rediscover the form that saw her lower the African 100m record to 10.79s – that time would almost certainly claim GOLD but given that Blessing has been concentrating on the 200 metres this season, this might have had an effect on both her speed and her confidence to claim the 100m crown!

Fellow Nigerian Gloria Asumnu also looks like a good bet for the 100m final as she occupies the 13th position in Commonwealth with a time of 11.15secs – even though EIGHT of the athletes ahead of her are Jamaican, only 3 of them can compete at the Games!

MoC PREDICTION: Our heart say GOLD for Blessing, but our head says it will be Silver or Bronze in the 100 metres. Gloria will do well to get to the final, but a medal will be out of her reach, unless she can run a PB and go under 11 seconds.

The good news is, with these two in our 4x100m team, they should be in good shape for a Relay medal next weekend! (Silver or Bronze – Jamaica will get the GOLD, unless they drop the baton or are disqualified)!

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Nigeria’s American Athletes – Are they good enough to win Commonwealth Medals?

26 Jul

There has been much controversy and talk since June at the Nigerian Trials for the Commonwealth Games, which heralded a new era of American Athletes with little or no clear lineage from Nigeria attending and dominating at those National Championships. While there has been widespread disapproval by some former Nigerian Olympians and local coaches of this new practice of recruiting Americans to represent Nigeria, there has also been a lingering school of thought which has followed the reasoning that, surely if they are better than what we have at home, they should be allowed to represent Nigeria? IF they can win medals for Team Nigeria at international competitions, then why not?

Well, here at MAKING OF CHAMPIONS we have crunched some very interesting numbers, to show you exactly what chance (IF ANY) our new American recruits have of winning medals at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where the Athletics programme is kicking off tomorrow. We have EXCLUSIVELY put together 2014 Commonwealth Athlete rankings to analyse Nigeria’s medal chances in FOUR events that our new Athletes will be competing in – the men’s 100m, 200m, 11om Hurdles, and the women’s 100m Hurdles!

Today, we analyse the chances of Nigeria’s current 100m  Champion, 30-year-old Mark Jelks, and runner-up in both 100m and 200m at the Nigerian trials, 33-year-old Monzavous Edwards, both of whom recently switched allegiances from Team USA to Team Naija. Have they improved Nigeria’s mens sprint pool?

*Divine Oduduru ran a wind-assisted 20.25s (2.3m/s) to win Silver at World Juniors in Eugene on July 25th 2014. Had the wind not been above the 2.0m/s limit for records, he would place 11th in the 200m list!

*Divine ran a wind-assisted 20.25s (2.3 m/s) to win Silver at World Juniors in Eugene on July 25th 2014. Had the wind not been above the 2 m/s limit for records, he would place 11th in the 200m list!

Despite the fact that Jelks is CURRENTLY faster than anyone else on Team Nigeria in the 100 metres, he only places 30th among Commonwealth Athletes in 2014 – ahead of him are EIGHT Jamaicans, SEVEN Brits, FOUR Trinadadians, TWO South Africans, TWO from St Kitts & Nevis and one each from four other countries. Even when you take into account that each country can only enter three athletes per event, it becomes very apparent that Jelks may well struggle to reach the Commonwealth 100m final, let alone win a medal! The odds of Edwards reaching the 100m final are even much slimmer – he’s only ranked 64th amongst Commonwealth athletes this year, and would be very difficult the argue that he is an upgrade from the likes of upcoming 22 year old Seye Ogunlewe, and former Nigerian Champions Egwero and Metu.

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

The emergence of Divine Oduduru with a World Junior Silver in the 200 metres in a stunning wind-assisted time of 20.25s also further calls into question the necessity (or indeed the wisdom) of recruiting older Americans to represent Nigeria. Oduduru, who could be representing Nigeria for another ten years or more, had already comfortably beaten 33-year-old Edwards at the Nigeria Trials with a time of 20.87s to 21.34s, a time that does not even rank Edwards in the top 100 in the Commonwealth for 200 metres this year – indeed only one year in his whole career did he run faster than 20.40s (he has a 20.17s PB from 2009). It would be surprising to see Edwards make it out of Round 1 in Glasgow, if he indeed attempts the 200 metres this week. There are already calls for Oduduru to be flown directly from Glasgow to Eugene to compete in the 200 metres which starts on Wednesday, so that Nigeria could have a decent showing in the event!

Monzavous 'Jolomi' Edwards, recently switched allegiances from Team USA, and placed second in the 100 metres at the 2014 Nigerian Trials

Monzavous ‘Jolomi’ Edwards, recently switched allegiances from Team USA, and placed second in the 100 metres at the 2014 Nigerian Trials

Finally, given all the countries listed above who have TWO or more athletes in the 100m Top 30 (Jamaica, England, Trinidad & Tobago, South Africa, St Kitts & Nevis) and even the Bahamas who has THREE in the top 35, we have to say that it is also rather unlikely that Nigeria will get a medal in the men’s 4x100m Relay next weekend, and the presence of the Americans does absolutely nothing to change that…

MoC PREDICTIONS for the men’s sprints:

Men’s 100 metres – Jelks could scrape into the 100m final in Glasgow, but a semi-final outing is most likely. Egwero & Edwards should reach the Semis too, but one of them may fall in the first round!

Men’s 200 metres – Edwards will not make it out of the first round, especially if he has contested the 100 metres already. Oduduru could possibly make the Semis, but will also fall in the 1st round IF he doesn’t arrive in Glasgow well ahead of Wednesday to get some much needed rest.

Men’s 4×100 metres – With or without the Americans in the squad, Team Nigeria should reach the final, but without some unexpected baton drops or lane infringements from 2 or 3 countries ahead of us, don’t expect a medal. Stranger things have happened we suppose, so one can still hope!

MoC VERDICT: The American recruits have NOT sufficiently improved Nigeria’s mens sprint pool to really justify their inclusion. We will stand corrected if they are able to prove our predictions wrong in the coming days!

 

 

 

Tags: , ,

Chika Amalaha wins Nigeria’s 1st GOLD at 2014 Commonwealth Games in Weightlifting!

26 Jul
Chika Amalaha of Nigeria competes in the Women's 53kg Group A Weightlifting at the Scottish Exhibition And Conference Centre at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on July 25, 2014 (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Chika Amalaha of Nigeria competes in the Women’s 53kg Category Weightlifting at the Scottish Exhibition And Conference Centre at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on July 25, 2014 (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Chika Amalaha on Friday won gold for Nigeria in the women’s 53kg weightlifting category at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. African champion Amalaha snatched a best of 85kg to set a new Games record before managing 111kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 196kg to win Nigeria’s second medal after Nkechi Opara won bronze in the 48kg on Thursday. Papua New Guinea’s Dika Toua took silver at the Clyde Auditorium with 193kg (82+111), with India’s Santoshi Matsa claiming bronze with 188kg (83+105).

(L-R) Silver medalist Dika Toua of Papa New Guinea, Gold medalist Chika Amalaha of Nigeria and Bronze medalist Santoshi Matsu of India after the Women's 53kg Group A Weightlifting (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

(L-R) Silver medalist Dika Toua of Papa New Guinea, Gold medalist Chika Amalaha of Nigeria and Bronze medalist Santoshi Matsu of India after the Women’s 53kg Category Weightlifting
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Amalaha was delighted with her win, and spoke to the press afterwards on her elation at claiming the GOLD: “I’m absolutely delighted,” said Amalaha. “I wasn’t coming here to go for gold; I just wanted to break my own record. I’m so happy that I’m going home with gold in my first Commonwealth Games. I started at the age of 12, but my family were strongly against me doing the sport at first. They kept me telling to stop doing it, but I persuaded them by getting a female coach. From then on, it was hard work, training, a lot of pain and dedication that got me here today. And now my family were in the audience and they are so excited and so proud.”

(L-R) Silver medalist Dika Toua of Papa New Guinea, Gold medalist Chika Amalaha of Nigeria and Bronze medalist Santoshi Matsu of India after the Women's 53kg Group A Weightlifting (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

(L-R) Silver medalist Dika Toua of Papa New Guinea, Gold medalist Chika Amalaha of Nigeria and Bronze medalist Santoshi Matsu of India after the Women’s 53kg Group A Weightlifting
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

 

 

Oduduru wins 200m World Junior Silver with wind-assisted 20.25s, equalling 5th fastest Nigerians all-time!

26 Jul

Divine Oduduru became the first Nigerian to run as fast as 20.25s in the 200 metres for TWELVE YEARS, as he raced to a silver medal behind USA’s Tentravis Friday (20.04s) at the ongoing World Junior Athletics Championships in Eugene, USA for U-20 athletes. Oduduru’s official Personal Best remains as 20.66s, which he ran in the semi-final the day before, because his 20.25s was run with a tailwind of 2.3m/s, which makes it ineligible for record purposes as it is over the legal limit of 2.0m/s. Nevertheless, it is an incredible performance whose won the Nigerian Trials in 20.87s, and has a lifetime best of 10.30s in the 100 metres. His progression over the last year has been nothing short of meteoric, given that a year ago he was running 21.13s set at the World Youth Championships in Ukraine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1InrJrJtyY

The significance of Divine’s run cannot be overstated – he beat much more heavily favoured athletes such as Jamaica’s Michael O’Hara (who beat him in the heats and semi-finals) into 3rd place and Anguilla’s Zharnel Hughes (who trains with Usain Bolt’s coach) into 5th place, and in so doing matched the FIFTH fastest men on Nigeria’s all-time list in the 200 metres! That will not be an official statistic given that it was wind-assisted, but his potential to run such a time NOW should fill Nigerians with excitement that perhaps we have an athlete here whom, with the right guidance and training, could become a serious Olympic medal contender in 2 year’s time! This result is certainly a breath of fresh air in what has so far been a bitterly disappointing championships for Nigeria. Even at the last edition in Barcelona 2 years ago, Team Naija came home with no medals, so this is a result definitely worth celebrating!
There had been some talk about why Divine was not also entered into the 100 metres at these championships, and his coaching crew must be commended for picking their battles wisely – the 100m Champion from these games, USA’s Kendal Williams failed to make it to the 200m final, likely due to exhaustion, a serious factor to consider at the U-20 level. The big question now is, does Nigeria have any plans to ship him straight over to Glasgow to compete in the Commonwealth Games in the coming week? He was listed on the Commonwealth Games team following the Nigerian trials, but it remains to be seen if his participation in the 200m in Glasgow has been properly planned for. Commowealth 200m starts this Wednesday (July 30th) – watch this space!
Photo finish of Divine Oduduru's 2nd place finish in the 200m at the 2014 World Juniors, in a wind-assisted time of 20.25 seconds!

Photo finish of Divine Oduduru’s 2nd place finish in the 200m at the 2014 World Juniors,
in a wind-assisted time of 20.25 seconds!

 
Nigeria’s 200 metres TOP FIVE (All-time)
 
1. Francis Obikwelu – 19.84s (1999), 20.01 (2000), 20.05 & 20.06 (1999)
2. Daniel Effiong – 20.10 (1994)
3. Olapade Adeniken – 20.11 (1992)
4. Oluyemi Kayode (RIP) – 20.22 (1992)
5. Davidson Ezinwa – 20.25 (1992)
5. Deji Aliu – 20.25 (2002)

Tags: , , , ,

Brume goes for GOLD as IAAF World Junior (U-20) Championships commences!

22 Jul

Team Nigeria’s Kehinde Olubodun, Ese Brume, Samson Nathaniel, Adekunle Rilwan and Jennifer Edobi will begin the nation’s quest for medals on Day 1 of the 15th edition of the IAAF World Junior Championship, for athletes under the age of 20, which takes centre stage at the Hayward Field stadium in Eugene, Oregon, in the US from the July 22nd to 27th 2014. 

Most of the country’s representatives to the six-day championship also featured in last year’s World Youth (U-18) Championships held in Donetsk, Ukraine where Nigeria failed to get to the podium, though athletes like Divine Oduduru and Edidiong Odiong reached boys’ 200m and girls’ 400m finals respectively.

Nigeria has won a total of 10 gold, 12 silver and 7 bronze medals since inception of the championship, which commenced in 1986 in Athens, with the likes of five- time Olympian, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi and a host of others ensuring that they got to the podium.The reverse now seems to be the case, as such heroic displays have long since eluded Nigeria at the junior level – the contingent to the last edition in Barcelona, Spain returned home without a single medal two years ago.

However there seems to be a glimmer of hope with the participation of Ese Brume in the Women’s long jump, if all goes according to plan. Based on current form, Brume, who won the national title in Calabar last month, is the favourite to win the event as she comes to the competition with a Season’s and Personal Best of 6.68m, while her closest opponent, Maryna Bekh of Ukraine has an SB of 6.36m and PB of 6.78m. Brume will compete in the qualification round this afternoon where she is expected to have a smooth sail to the final which comes up on Wednesday afternoon.

Nigeria stands a slim chance of a podium appearance in the men’s and women’s 4x100m relays. The men’s team is ranked fifth in the world behind Jamaica, Japan, Thailand and Great Britain while their female counterparts are ranked sixth. Team Nigeria will likely fare better in the ‘mile relay’ (4x400m), where the  men’s quartet occupies second in the world ranking, just behind Trinidad and Tobago while the women’s 4x400m team are second behind Jamaica.

Nigeria’s sole participant in the men’s 100m will be Kehinde Olubodun, who has a PB of 10.49secs and will have his work cut out for him to even make the semis, in an event that has seen Team USA’s Trayvon Bromell run World Junior Record of 9.97 earlier this year. Japan’s Yoshihide Kiryu (PB 10.01s) and the Jamaican duo of Jevaughn Minzie and Michael O’Hara (10.16s & 10.19s respectively will be the medal favourites, as will Anguilla’s Zharnel Hughes (10.12s) who is attempting the 100/200m double – he is the fastest schoolboy in Jamaica and trains with Usain Bolt’s coach!

The duo of Adekunle Rilwan (46.21s) and Samson Nathaniel (46.42s) are set to compete in the preliminaries of the men’s 400m. Jennifer Adaeze Edobi will also feature in the women’s 800m while Bashiru Abdullahi will compete in the 110 Hurdles.

Follow the action from Day 1 of the World Juniors LIVE on SS2 TODAY from 5.50pm – 10.00pm (Session 1) and from 1.05 – 5.30am (Session 2)!

Team Nigeria (subject to change, according to the daily start-lists on the World Junior Champs website)

Men

1.Kehinde Olubodun (100m, 4x100m)

2.Divine Oduduru (200m, 4x100m)

3.Tega Odele (200m, 4x100m)

4.Rilwan Fasasi (400m, 4x400m)

5.Nathaniel Samson (400m, 4x400m)

6.Bashiru Abdullahi (110 Hurdles, 4x100m)

7.Fabian Edoki (Triple Jump)

8.Ini-Oluwa Oye (4x100m)

9.Omeiza Akerele (4x100m, 4x400m)

10.Obokinare Ikpefan (4x100m)

11.Sikiru Adeyemi (4x400m)

Women

1.Abolaji Omotayo (100m, 4x100m)

2.Deborah Odeyemi (100m, 200m, 4x100m)

3.Praise Idamadudu (200m, 400m, 4x400m)

4.Edidiong Odiong (400m, 4x400m)

5.Yinka Ajayi (400m, 4x400m)

6.Jennifer Edobi (800m, 4x400m)

7.Oluwatobiloba Amusan (100m Hurdles)

8.Ese Brume (Long Jump, 4x100m)

9.Nwanneka Okuelogu (Shot put, Discus)

10.Haisha Bisiolu (4x100m, 4x400m)

 

Team Nigeria in medals chase as Commonwealth Games in Glasgow take off!!!

22 Jul

Four years ago, the duo of Tosin Oke in the triple jump and Ajoke Odumosu in the 400m hurdles stood out as the country’s shining beacons in track and field as they struck gold in their respective events to ensure that the Nigerian anthem was played at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. As the world turns its attention to the 2014 edition which kicks off on Wednesday, the burning question on the minds of many is how Nigeria will fare this time around. Leading Team Nigeria’s conquest for medals is none other than sprinter/jumper, Blessing Okagbare, who is making her debut at the quadrennial championship, and who, almost solely, bears the burden of salvaging the country’s pride at the event holding from July 23rd to August 3rd.

Okagbare, the African record holder over 100m, is expected to take part in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and probably the long jump (though the gruelling schedule may not allow her to make an attempt for 4 medals in the space of one week). The 25 year old has particularly been active in the Diamond League this season where she featured majorly in the sprints, while only competing in the long jump in Shanghai, where she set a Meeting Record (MR) with a leap of 6.86m. Blessing faces the daunting task of securing her first Commonwealth Games title in the 100m in a field that has an intimidating line-up comprising of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the in-form Veronica Campbell-Brown, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye, who comes to the competition with the fastest time of 10.85s. 

Okagbare went against the Jamaican duo only last week at the Diamond League in Monaco, where Campbell-Brown placed second (10.96s) behind USA’s Tori Bowie, who blew the rest of the field away with a World Lead (WL) of 10.80s. Even though Blessing raced to a Season’s Best (SB) of 10.97s, she finished in 4th, just behind Cote d’Ivoire’s Murielle Ahouré who was given the same time. 200m Olympic Champion, Allyson Felix, and World sprint double champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce placed 5th & 6th respectively, both with SBs of 11.01s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fvi0LSXaC0

The Delta State athlete however seems to stand a better chance of winning GOLD in the 200m, which has been her focus for the better part of this season. Okagbare currently tops the 200m standings in the Diamond League and looks the favourite to clinch the Commonwealth title ahead of Fraser-Pryce, who is still yet to hit optimum fitness this year. And though it is not certain if the Beijing 2008 bronze medallist will compete in the long jump, the event seems like a sure medal prospect for Nigeria if she participates, considering that the Americans, led by Triple World Champion Brittney Reese and World Lead this season, Tianna Bartoletta, are not part of the Commonwealth Games. 

Defending champion in the men’s triple jump, Tosin Oke may need to jump beyond 17 metres to retain the title he won in Delhi. He finished fourth at his last outing at the Glasgow Diamond League two weeks ago with a leap of 16.51m, though behind 3 Americans, who again will play no part at the Games, so that may bode well for his chances of defending his title. Oke’s PB of 17.23m was set at the national trials in Calabar in 2012 in the run-up to the London Olympics. 

Nigeria will also have an outside chance of a medal in the women’s 400m, though it is certain that defending champion, Amantle Montsho of Botswana will not give up her title without a fight – the African champion has an SB of 50.37s. The likes of Novlene Williams-Mills (50.05s) and Stephanie Ann MacPherson (50.40s) of Jamaica have all posted fastest times than Team Nigeria’s Regina George in the Diamond League. George comes to the games with an SB of 51.39s and placed sixth in Glasgow (51.82s) a fortnight ago. She would also have to contend with compatriots, Folashade Abugan, Omolara Omotosho and Patience Okon George who all denied her a medal at the national trials, as she relinquished her Nigerian crown from 2012 and 2013 with a fourth place finish.

The quartet of George, Abugan, Omotosho and Okon George should win at least Silver in the 4x400m at these games, if they can replicate the kind of form that saw them win a brilliant bronze medal at the inaugural IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas in May, in the 3rd fastest time ever run by a Nigerian female quartet in the 4x400m! Team GB could also pose a threat, if Christine Ohuruogu can find the kind of form that has so far eluded her this season, but don’t bet against Team Nigeria running Jamaica very close for the GOLD! 

An interesting twist to this year’s Commonwealth Games outing is the inclusion of at least five American athletes who recently secured the Nigerian passport and were selected to compete at the games. They include Dominique Duncan (100m), Mark Jelks (100m), Monzavous Edwards (100m), Nichole Denby (100m Hurdles) and Tyrone Akins (110 Hurdles). 

Jelks and Edwards placed first and second in the 100m at the national trials in Calabar last month in 10.23s and 10.39s respectively, and face a Herculean task as far as reaching the podium in Scotland is concerned. Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson ran 9.82s (a WL at the time) in June while Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade (9.97s) and Nesta Carter (9.98s) have also run under 10 seconds, a feat which is still yet to be achieved by a Nigerian sprinter since 2006! Will Nigeria’s American recruits break the nation’s 8-year duck when it comes to sub-10 second sprinting? They would almost certainly have to, to have any realistic hope of coming away with a medal at the Glasgow games!  

Watch out for Making of Champion’s in-depth analyses of Nigeria’s chances in the coming days, and updates of all of Team Nigeria’s performances in Athletics next week, LIVE and DIRECT from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games!

Nigeria’s Commonwealth Games Team

 

MAKING OF CHAMPIONS celebrates 1-year anniversary with new LOGO!

16 Jul

Making of Champions (MoC) Ltd, the company founded by Sports Entrepreneur & Film-Maker Bambo Akani, is a year old this month, and ahead of the start of the Commonwealth Games next week, we are celebrating our 1-year anniversary with the launch of this AWESOME brand new logo!

Making of champs3a cropped

The Making of Champions Movement has come a long way in the past year. It all started with the Making of Champions: “The History” film, which was made to showcase Nigeria’s rich Olympic medal history in Athletics (Track & Field) and lays the foundation for how Nigeria can return to reckoning on the world stage! And that is what this movement is all about. The first major highlight for the company came in August 2013 following the World Championships in Moscow, when the then Nigerian Sports Minister, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, personally commended MoC Founder Bambo Akani for his reporting on this blog of Blessing Okagbare winning Nigeria’s first World Championship medals in 14 years. At the behest of the Minister, Bambo was flown in from London to Abuja as a Sports Consultant to help run a 3-day strategy session on installing a High Performance System for Sports in Nigeria!

2013 ended with an international roadshow for Making of Champions: “The History”, where we took the film to 4 different cities across 3 continents, including Atlanta, London and Abuja, where the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) President and Technical Director, Solomon Ogba and Omatseye Nesiama, were our special guests, along with Nigeria’s newly appointed High Performance Directors for Athletics and all Sports respectively, Eric Campbell and Angie Taylor! The film consequently premiered at the iREP Documentary Film Festival in March 2014 and has received rave reviews everywhere it has screened! A special pre-Commonwealth Games Screening will take place at Eko Hotel this Sunday July 20th at 4pm. This will be the Nigerian Athletics Event of the year – don’t miss it!

Another highlight of 2013 was the Road to Brazil Documentary Shoot, which took place in Salvador Da Bahia in Brazil during the World Cup Draw in December! It featured several Portuguese-speaking Nigerian Exchange Students from Obafemi Awolowo University who were in Salvador for their year abroad programme, and were lucky enough to be there when the Super Eagles played in the Confederations Cup! Road to Brazil also featured several Brazilians fans and an Argentinian super-fan showing their support for the Super Eagles, such was the goodwill for Nigeria in Salvador, a city infused with Nigerian and Yoruba cuisine, language and religion, passed on from the slaves who were taken there during the transatlantic slave trade centuries ago! Road to Brazil was released online as a series of shorts during the World Cup, in support of a Nigeria team that did the nation proud with a 2nd round showing!

At the very core of Making of Champions is the firm belief that Nigeria can become the No. 1 Track & Field nation in the world within 5 years, and 2014 has been all about setting those lofty ambitions into motion! MoC Social Media was launched in April 2014, and in just THREE months, the interest and engagement for Nigerian Athletics has been overwhelming – we already have well nearly 6,000 fans across our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! Our YouTube Channel has over 60 videos with a combined 12,500 views since 2013, while the viewership of this blog has more than quadrupled from just 3,000 in 2013, to over 13,000 in the first seven months of 2014! We are steadily growing a fan base and viewership that will soon attract the support of Corporate Nigeria to our cause, which is to revolutionise Athletics in Nigeria!

With such unprecedented growth of our Athletics fan base, MoC Ltd has also has to expand to keep up with the high demand for our content. We brought on a team to help with our Social Media Launch in April, and since then we have also brought on volunteers to write stories for the blog and manage our social media handles! The expansion will continue and very soon we will be recruiting for full-time Social Media Managers and Sports Journalists to write our stories. Once we have investor or sponsor funding in place, we will also be making hires for Sports Administration and Management Professionals, as well as coaches, as we seek to launch Nigeria’s first ever Professional Track Club, to train athletes at home to become our future Olympic and World Champions!

Perhaps the highlight of 2014 so far has been our live media activation at the first ever World Relay Competition in the Bahamas, which MoC Founder Bambo Akani attended as an accredited photographer and captured Team Nigeria’s best images from the competition, including a fantastic Bronze medal in the women’s 4×400 metres. He also coordinated a poignant Bring Back Our Girls campaign which the whole Athletics community participated in, from the star athletes such as Blessing Okagbare, Christine Ohuruogu and Yohan Blake, right up to the IAAF President himself, Lamine Diack. Bambo also reported live from the Nigerian National Championships in June, and from March to June he appeared as an athletics pundit in a new weekly segment on the Sports Tonight Show with Toyin Ibitoye on Channels TV!

We’re only half way through the 2014 Athletics season, and we’re building up to our live activation at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland next week, as well as the African Athletics Championships in Morocco in August. There’s also still plenty more to come from the International Diamond League circuit, which we have been reporting on, including live social media during each event! These are truly exciting times for us, as we believe that this is the beginning of the revival of Team Nigeria at the Olympics! Join us in celebrating our 1-year anniversary at the special pre-Commonwealth Games Screening of Making of Champions: “The History” at Eko Hotel, VI, Lagos this Sunday at 4pm!

Tags: , , ,

MAKING OF CHAMPIONS Film Screening @ EKO HOTEL on Sunday July 20th @ 4pm!

16 Jul

With the World Cup now over, and Team Nigeria getting ready to go in the Commonwealth Games starting this week, Making of Champions Ltd brings you the EXCLUSIVE Pre-Commonwealth Games screening of our new Athletics Documentary Film, MAKING OF CHAMPIONS: “The History”! 

MoC Eko Hotel Screening Poster

See below for the synopsis and teaser for the film! Let’s get behind Team Nigeria and Make Champions! Admission is FREE, but please RSVP to  management@makingofchamps.com to confirm your attendance and avoid any possible disappointment! Hope to see you there on Sunday!

 

SYNOPSIS

In late 2012, independent filmmaker Bambo Akani started the journey of making the feature-length documentary, Making of Champions: “The History” after seeing a country as populous as Nigeria, blessed with so many people of natural athletic ability, return from the London 2012 Olympics with a sum total of ZERO medals – the first time Nigeria had failed to medal at the Olympics since Seoul ’88. In truth, the decline has been steady since the Sydney 2000 Olympics – we just did not realise it.

Making of Champions: “The History” is a 75-minute film capturing Nigeria’s full Olympic medal history in Athletics (Track & Field) and lays the foundation for how Nigeria can return to reckoning on the world stage:

Making of Champions: “The History” traverses the globe to meet Nigeria’s former Olympic heroes and tell the stories of how they won their Olympic medals – Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya and Enefiok Udo-Obong, the only double Olympic medallists in Nigeria’s history, and Innocent Egbunike who was Nigeria’s head coach at the London 2012 Olympics. We meet former Nigerian medallists Francis Obikwelu and Glory Alozie in Portugal and Spain respectively, to find out why they switched from Nigeria to represent their adopted countries and finally, we meet all of Jamaica’s star athletes, such as Yohan Blake and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, to find out why the Jamaicans are so fast!

The ultimate goal for the film is to awaken Nigerians to the vast potential we have in Track and Field, rekindle the national interest for the sport, and start a movement that will enable Team Nigeria to once again compete with the best in the world! Why have we fallen so far? How can we get back to winning medals on the global stage? What does it take to Make Champions in Track and Field? This film answers all these questions and more, and is a call to arms for Nigerians everywhere to ensure that the legacy of heroes past is not lost forever in a sport in which Nigeria has limitless potential!

MAKING OF CHAMPIONS FILM SCREENING @ EKO HOTEL on Sunday July 20th @ 4pm!

15 Jul

With the World Cup now over, and Team Nigeria getting ready to go in the Commonwealth Games starting this week, Making of Champions Ltd brings you the EXCLUSIVE Pre-Commonwealth Games screening of our new Athletics Documentary Film, MAKING OF CHAMPIONS: “The History”! 

MoC Eko Hotel Screening Poster

See below for the synopsis and teaser for the film! Let’s get behind Team Nigeria and Make Champions! Admission is FREE, however be sure to RSVP to management@makingofchamps.com to confirm your attendance! We hope to see you there on Sunday!

 

SYNOPSIS

In late 2012, independent filmmaker Bambo Akani started the journey of making the feature-length documentary, Making of Champions: “The History” after seeing a country as populous as Nigeria, blessed with so many people of natural athletic ability, return from the London 2012 Olympics with a sum total of ZERO medals – the first time Nigeria had failed to medal at the Olympics since Seoul ’88. In truth, the decline has been steady since the Sydney 2000 Olympics – we just did not realise it.

Making of Champions: “The History” is a 75-minute film capturing Nigeria’s full Olympic medal history in Athletics (Track & Field) and lays the foundation for how Nigeria can return to reckoning on the world stage:

Making of Champions: “The History” traverses the globe to meet Nigeria’s former Olympic heroes and tell the stories of how they won their Olympic medals – Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya and Enefiok Udo-Obong, the only double Olympic medallists in Nigeria’s history, and Innocent Egbunike who was Nigeria’s head coach at the London 2012 Olympics. We meet former Nigerian medallists Francis Obikwelu and Glory Alozie in Portugal and Spain respectively, to find out why they switched from Nigeria to represent their adopted countries and finally, we meet all of Jamaica’s star athletes, such as Yohan Blake and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, to find out why the Jamaicans are so fast!

The ultimate goal for the film is to awaken Nigerians to the vast potential we have in Track and Field, rekindle the national interest for the sport, and start a movement that will enable Team Nigeria to once again compete with the best in the world! Why have we fallen so far? How can we get back to winning medals on the global stage? What does it take to Make Champions in Track and Field? This film answers all these questions and more, and is a call to arms for Nigerians everywhere to ensure that the legacy of heroes past is not lost forever in a sport in which Nigeria has limitless potential!

Tags: ,

Okagbare settles for third place as Schippers stuns 200m field at Glasgow Diamond League!

13 Jul

The late withdrawals of World Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and this season’s world leader Tori Bowie from the women’s 200m race at the IAAF Diamond League in Glasgow had led many (or misled, as it turns out) into believing that the encounter was going to be a two-horse race between Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare and three-time world champion, Allyson Felix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxCwDib0-Ns

However the duo did not bargain for a third party in the person of Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands! It was a keenly contested race and Felix had all but won the race after holding off Okagbare by almost a metre, but it was Schippers who reigned supreme as she out-dipped the American on the line to win the 200m by just 0.01s, in a National Record (NR) of 22.34s, just two hours after setting another NR of 11.03s in the 100m B event!

Schippers is a 2013 World Championships bronze medallist in the heptathlon and she has also won European and World Junior titles in the same event. Felix came out a close second in 22.35s while Okagbare was third to cross the finish line in 22.41s, the slowest time she has clocked in her 2014 Diamond League campaign. Despite finishing 3rd in Glasgow, Blessing still tops the Diamond League standings with 11 points, with Felix close behind in 2nd with 9 points, and Schippers and Tori Bowie tied in third on 4 points.  Without the American threat at the Commonwealth Games, Okagbare still looks like a good bet for Commowealth GOLD in the 200 metres, though it remains to be seen if World Champion Fraser-Pryce can stage a miraculous upturn in her 200m form this season in the next 2 weeks! 

The 100 metres is a whole other story though – she will have the Jamaicans to contend with, along with Trinidad & Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye, who has churned out several impressive 100m performances this season. She is unbeaten in 9 races this season and took another victory in Glasgow in a time of 11.01s, ahead of Fraser-Pryce (11.10s) and Cote d’Ivoire’s Murielle Ahouré (11.17s). Ahye is the world leader over 100m this season and has gone sub-11 at three different times (10.85s, 10.88s and 10.98s)!

In the 400m, Regina George’s return to the Diamond League circuit ended with a sixth place finish and a time of 51.82s, in a race that included USA’s duo of Francena McCorory (who won the race in 49.93s) and Sanya Richards-Ross (who was second in 50.39s), and the Jamaican pair of Novlene Williams-Mills and Ann Stephanie Mcpherson who placed third and fourth respectively (50.60s and 50.98s). Commonwealth Games defending champion, Amantle Montsho was fifth in 51.35s. The former world champion is not going to have an easy ride as far as the defence of her title is concerned, going by her inconsistency in the Diamond League, where she has only managed one win this season.

As it is, the odds are stacked against Regina’s getting to the podium at the Commonwealth Games where she is set to make her debut, because even compatriots, Folashade Abugan, Omolara Omotosho and Patience Okon George who finished ahead of her at the national trials, are not left out of the quest to win an individual 400m medal in Glasgow.

Defending Commonwealth and African Champion Tosin Oke finished fourth in the triple jump behind USA’s trio of Olympic champion, Christian Taylor (17.36m), world leader Will Claye (17.27m) and Chris Benard (16.54m). Oke’s leap of 16.51m is still some way off his PB of 17.23m; he may need to jump over 17 metres to successfully defend his Commonwealth title in Glasgow in a couple of weeks, and his African crown in Marrakech in August!

Botswana’s Isaac Makwala maintained his brilliant from to storm to the men’s 400m in 44.71s, ahead of London 2012 gold medallist, Christopher Brown (44.94s) of the Bahamas and Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson Smith (44.97s). For Makwala this was the second fastest time of his career – it will be recalled that only last week he eclipsed Gary Kikaya’s African Record of 44.10s with a new time of 44.01s in Switzerland, and went on to post a scintillating performance in the 200m just ninety minutes later in 19.96s, another National Record!

Meanwhile 800m Olympic Champion David Rudisha confirmed his readiness for the Commonwealth Games as he cruised to the 15th Diamond League win of his career with a world lead of 1:43.34. The victory has been long in coming for the 25-year old who after injury last year is just coming back to the form that saw him emerge as the World Record Holder in the 2-lap event at the London 2012 Olympics, and the only man ever to have broken the 1:41 barrier in the 800m.

The men’s 100m was won by Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade, who atoned for his false start in Paris last week to cross the line in an SB of 9.97s, same as Michael Rodgers of the USA who came second and  Nesta Carter in third in an SB of 9.98s. Former world champion, Yohan Blake pulled up and fell in the middle of the race and had to be wheeled away from the track, a sad scene that may signal the end of a second injury plagued season for the 2nd fastest man in history over the 100m and 200m!

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →

athletic heat

The best of Nigerian Athletics

MAKING OF CHAMPIONS

Voomfootball

Premier League news, features and tactical analysis

The Peregrine Reads

Sports with Enee

Sports with Enee

A personal commentary of sports issues in Nigeria and the world

North of Lagos

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is the best place for your personal blog or business site.