By Uzor Odigbo
The Stephen Keshi new stadium facilities venue of the forthcoming Africa Senior Athletics Championships tagged Asaba 2018, has been described as top notch and fit for all major local and international athletics events.
These were the views of former Africa and National 400mh champion Maria Usifo in an interview with TheNiche.
Usifo insists that with such fantastic stadium facilities, no athlete would lag behind in performance, rather it will be an added motivation to those ready for competitions.
Usifo said: “The stadium and its facilities can make athletes break records. I say this because during my time, we competed with the aim of breaking or establishing new stadium records. I wish it was during my time that this edifice and new tracks came to being.”
Usifo, the Edo State sports technical director, praised the effort of the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa in putting up such beautiful sports facility that would be of mutual benefit to talented youth in the state and its environs.
“Most states in the country don’t have facilities like this and I’m confident that most of them would emulate Delta state.”
On the Africa Senior Athletics Championship, Usifo expects Team Nigeria to do well, positing that enough preparations have been made including the expected influx of Nigeria’s foreign based athletes who were not available at the Commonwealth Games.
“I’m confident that our team will do well in the championship, we are hosting to make impact and by the special grace of God, it shall be so.”