BEVERLY HILLS, April 26, (THEWILL) – The dreams of the Nigerian 100m hurdler, Oluwatobiloba Ayomide Amusan’s to become an Olympian and earn a podium finish at the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo, to which she has dedicated her life, with hard work, perseverance and dedicated passion, may have come to fruition with the recent backing of Dapo Abiodun, the Executive Governor of Ogun State.
The Governor, aware of Amusan’s potential and the challenges towards reaching Tokyo, bought into the Adopt-A-Talent initiative of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, who had pushed for this outcome through regular visits to state governors, individuals and corporate bodies.
During these high-level visits, Dare proposed that these individuals, bodies and institutions joined in the ministry’s drive to support Olympic-bound athletes by paying money directly to the athletes’ accounts to support their early preparations for the Games and give them the financial and moral boost to push them to success and achievements.
Laudable as it was, the initiative suffered suspensions as, much like everything else in the sporting world, the activities were halted by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic last year. However, with the phased resumption of sports and the imminent commencement of the Tokyo Games, the adopt-a-talent initiative has picked up again.
The Governor said he found it expedient to adopt Amusan not only because she is an indigene of the state, but, more importantly, because she is a symbol of the Nigerian spirit of talent and hard work and there is a need to encourage that today.
The 24-year-old track and field athlete announced her arrival to the big stage after winning silver in the African Youth Championships in 2013. Her determination was illustrated in the improvement she made when in 2015, she clinched the gold medal at the 2015 African Junior Athletics Championship in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
It has been excellence for her ever since, going on to win the 2018 Commonwealth event and becoming the 2019 African champion as well. Amusan is a two-time African Games champion also. She was ranked fourth in the world following her feat at the World Championships in Doha in 2019.
The adopt-a-talent initiative is highly commendable and will be a veritable support system for dedicated athletes barred from excellence by nothing other than financial handicaps. When adopted, these individuals can get the requisite training they need with facilities that are modern, can enter competitions that will aid their growth and can improve enough to be world beaters.
THEWILL recalls that 10-year-old athlete, Stephanie Onusiriuka, who represented Team Anambra at the just-concluded National Sports Festival in Edo State and finished with a gold medal in aerobics, a silver medal each in the “Floor” and “Best-All-Round” category, and a bronze medal on Beam exercise events used her opportunity in the limelight to appeal for all-round support to help her realise her dream of participating in the Olympics.
If she can gain adoption too, at her tender age, there can be no stopping the heights she will attain as a professional in her chosen areas of competence.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
