30th July, 2013
Nigerians who are sports lovers are singing redemption song after Blessing Okagbare set a new African record of 10.79 seconds in the women’s 100 metres at the 2013 IAAF Diamond League also known as Olympics Anniversary Games in London last weekend.
Okagbare’s winning time of 10.79 seconds eclipsed the record time of 10.86 which she had set in the semi-finals.
Both times eclipsed the old record of 10.90 seconds set by another Nigerian woman, Gloria Alozie, over a decade ago.
In winning the event, Okagbare beat Olympic champion, Shelly-Ann Frazer-Pryce of Jamaica, who could only manage a fourth place, despite setting a world leading time of 10.77 seconds in the heats. Barbara Pierre of the United States was second behind Okagbare in 10.85 seconds.
Her performance has to some extent redeemed Nigeria’s image in athletics which was smeared exactly one year ago at the London Olympic Games where Nigeria’s contingent failed to win a medal.
The IAAF Diamond League is an annual series of track and field events held all over the world, and this year, the Anniversary Games held in London seems a fitting encore to the Olympics.
The competitors at the games were top rated athletes who participated in the Olympics. The list include Allyson Felix, Mo Farah, Ryan Bailey, Sanya Richards-Ross, and of course, Usain Bolt. With more than 60,000 fans attending the event, it was a grand platform for athletes to showcase their skills and Okagbare rose to the occasion with her stellar performance.
Before last weekend’s feat in London, the University of Texas graduate won the women’s long jump event at the IAAF Diamond League Grand Prix in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
Okagbare jumped a remarkable 6.98 metres earning a +1.1 ahead of USA’s Brittney Reese and Britain’s Shara Proctor who finished third with a personal best of 6.92 metres.
She had her second fastest ever 22.55 seconds to win the 200m event of the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix in Birmingham, England in June.
With the scintillating performance in London last weekend, the reigning Nigerian sprint queen, who recently won her sprint crown for the fifth consecutive time, has sent a warning message to her opponents in the 14th IAAF World Championship scheduled for Moscow, Russia from 10-18 August.
The Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, NSC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, believes if Okagbare continues with her current form she may emerge world champion in the women’s 100m race at the Russia tourney.
Former international long jumper, Yusuf Alli, who was the captain of the Nigerian contingent to the 1980 Moscow Olympics, also expressed confidence that the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist in long jump will come back from Russia with a medal with her current podium time.
To echo the words of Sunday Uti, a 1984 Los Angeles Olympic 4x400m relay bronze medalist, there is just a thin line between success and failure. What separates success from failure is that extra push an athlete puts into his work, either at training or competition. That is what gives the edge.
It is easy to celebrate victory but to achieve a remarkable feat like the one Okagbare achieved in London is not a fluke. It calls for perseverance, commitment, focus and hard work. She should be assisted by the relevant authorities such as the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, and the Delta State Government, the state where the athlete hails from, to continue to soar and bring honour to her country.
All the athletes that will represent Nigeria in Russia deserve encouragement for them to also excel. The mistakes which led to the woeful performance of Team Nigeria at the London 2012 Olympics should be avoided because the World Championship is the equivalent of the World Cup in football.