Omezie Akerele was the star of the evening as he practically rescued the 4x400m gold in the most sensational manner that is reminiscent of the heroics of Enefiok Udo-Obong at the Sydney 2000 Olympics where Nigeria won gold in the men 4x400m relay.
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Here in Bambous, Mauritius the Nigerian junior quartet found themselves playing second fiddle to Gambia after the third leg runner, Ugbochukwu Ottah failed to maintain the tempo Adedamola Adeniyi and Charles Okezie had started with. But Akerele who won silver in the flat stepped up to the plate. He chased down Tijan Keita the African youth champion at Warri 2013 and at the 200m curve, Akerele closed down the gap with a much determined push and at the home stretch he changed gear overhauling the Gambian. Not surprisingly, the entire stadium was in uproar as Akerele anchored at 3.14.50 to win the race. Gambia placed second with 3.14.76, while Ethiopia was third with 3.15,08.
Earlier in the day, Ada Benjamin led the women quartet to the gold in the women 4x400m. They did not experience much challenge as they raced to the finish at 3.37. 93, Ethiopia was second with 3.42.18 seconds, while South Africa had the bronze with 3.57.78.
In the women long jump event, Ese Brume leapt 6.33m to win the gold. But for the strong tail wind, she could have broken the African junior record of 6.25m. In men’s event Babajide Okulaja settled for silver with 7.42m, in the event that was won by South Africa’s Duwayne Andrew Boer with a jump of 7.58m.
“We are extremely excited with the performances of our athletes. I have hope that the change we yearn for is just around the corner. This is the development we crave for,” said Athletics Federation technical director, Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama.
The events come to an end today with Nigeria still topping the medals table with Seven gold, while South Africa have four gold medals. Egypt and Kenya have three gold medals each.
Divine Oduduru and Japhet Samuel are running the men 200m today, while Nkiru Uwakwe and Nkem Ezealah will run in the women race. Oduduru has the fasted time 21.53 in the qualifying heats. But the girls need to work harder to ensure gold for Nigeria.
*Sisters in Arm... Ada Benjamin and Rita Ossai (left) after winning gold and silver at the African Junior in Mauritius
*Sisters in Arm… Ada Benjamin and Rita Ossai (left) after winning gold and silver at the African Junior in Mauritius
No pain, no gain, says Ada Benjamin
Nigeria junior athlete, Ada Benjamin clutched her ‘butt’ after a hard race in the women 400m event at the African junior championships in Mauritius. She was evidently happy, yet she grimaced, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. She told the team doctor she was feeling excruciating pains.
But before she was herded into the dope room after she won the gold, she said between smiles that she was ready to go through pain to win more athletics laurels.
“My coach told me that I should be ready to face pain I want to go far. Because I train very hard and after each session all I feel is pain and I always cry.
“But today, after winning the gold I totally agree with the saying ‘No pain, no gain’.
“I am ready to train even harder to achieve more success,” said the Port Harcourt born Benjamin.
She has been around the junior athletics circle for a while without a medal to her name and winning her first gold medal in Mauritius seem to have made her hungry for more of such glory. “When I was coming here I was praying to God to let me win the gold. This is because I trained hard and I am really glad winning the gold in a very spectacular way. And for sure I want more of this each time.
Assar too much for Toriola
Egyptian champion Omar Assar yesterday won the men’s title of the first Lagos International Table Tennis Classics after overcoming the stiff challenge from Nigeria’s Segun Toriola.Assar beat Nigeria’s Segun Toriola 11-9, 11-4, 13-15, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9
In the women’s singles Nigeria’s Cecilia Otu-Akpan beat her compatriot Offiong Edem 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9. In other results, Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo beat Nigeria’s Azeez Ogunlade 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 18-16, 11-6 in the boys category while Nigeria’s Esther Tosin Oribamise beat Nigeria’s Alimot Ayinla 11-9, 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 Players’ Quote
Segun Toriola
I really wanted to win the title for the country and the fans but things just went the other way. There is no doubt that Egypt’s Assar played very well and he gave his best. For me, it was exciting making it to the final and I want to thank the fans for their steadfastness in supporting all the players and I hope to see more of this being staged in Nigeria.
Egypt’s Omar Assar
I am happy that I became the champion of this tournament and it will go down in history and for me I am so excited coming to Nigeria to win the title.
I thank the ATTF President, Khaled El-Salhy for facilitating my participation in the tournament. I enjoyed my stay in Nigeria and I hope to come back next year and also meet Toriola in the final.
Cecila Otu-Akpan of Nigeria
I am so happy that I won this competition having been out of the game for years. I give glory to God and I am so excited that we are having this kind of competition again in Nigeria. I hope we will have more in order to help the local players.
Edem Offiong of Nigeria
I am happy despite losing to my compatriot and I am so excited that the title remained in Nigeria. I wanted to win the competition but my opponent really played very well and I am happy for her for this victory because she is coming back after a long time.(vanguard)
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