Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, has said the Commission is impressed with the performance of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) at the recently concluded World Relays and the African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, Ghana.
Speaking with FAKS MEDIA in an exclusive interview, the Director General described Team Nigeria’s performance at the World Relays as encouraging, noting that qualifying for three out of the six relay events was a major positive considering the relative inexperience of many of the athletes who represented the country.
The DG said the performances of the young athletes clearly showed that the future of Nigerian athletics is bright.
Olopade stated “The performance at the World Relays was good. Qualifying in three out of the six relays was a plus considering that many of the athletes who made us proud are relatively inexperienced, but you can already see the future in these young talents,”.
In a related development, the NSC Director General also praised Team Nigeria’s athletes for their outstanding performance at the African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra.
According to him, the impressive display by the young female athletes is a strong indication that the developmental efforts of the NSC and AFN are yielding results.
Olopade added “What the young girls did at the African Championships is a big plus. Look at athletes like Miracle Ezechukwu and a few others. It shows that what the NSC and AFN are doing to catch them young is working,” .
Olopade further noted that beyond winning four gold medals, the performances of the young athletes have given Nigerians hope for a brighter future in athletics.
He concluded “Beyond winning four gold medals, you can clearly see that the future is bright for athletics in Nigeria with what those young girls achieved,” .
Ohis Asein