BEVERLY HILLS, May 06, (THEWILL) – After missing out on the 2021 World Athletics Relays, the international biennial track and field sporting event held by World Athletics in Chorzow, Poland, Nigerian athletes were on the verge of not qualifying for the relay events in the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo.
To prevent that from happening, the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, intervened to secure a slot for the athletes representing the country. Due to that intervention, 16 of these athletes departed the Murtala Mohammed International Airport on Thursday for Texas to participate in qualifier relay events for the Olympics.
Their Texas trip comes at the culmination of about three weeks of intensive preparations at their Abuja-based camp from whence the 16 emerged to represent the country at the qualifiers in Texas, USA. The Honourable Minister was present with them at the airport to see them off.
The relays for the Nigerian contingent kick off in three days.
In his remarks about the circumstances surrounding the athletes missing out of the Poland relays, the Secretary General of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Prince Niyi Beyioku denied claims in certain quarters that it had anything to do with the athletes being stranded due to lack of funds to prosecute their travelling.
Beyioku said: “Our athletes are highly motivated to participate in various relays in the United States. Contrary to a report which claimed the team was stranded, you can see that it is not true.
“You can see them in their new kits courtesy of the Minister who pulled all the buttons to make the trip a reality. The team has no financial problems. Team Nigeria Olympic preparations is on track. This is evident in what we are seeing. The advance party went ahead to finetune all arrangements. This is a mark of the commitment of the Minister to ensure a hitch free event and podium success in Tokyo”
The Secretary General added: “The Athletes have trained very well and are motivated to make the country proud. All the Covid-19 protocols for a successful trip have been carried out. To underscore the importance of the trip, the Minister lived up to his promise to see the athletes off to motivate them to make Nigeria proud by qualifying for the Olympics and win medals.”
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.
