Team Nigeria will continue to fight for laurels at the ongoing 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games which commenced in Glasgow on Wednesday, July 23, with her athletes filing out to compete in athletics which has 50 events.
Africa’s fastest woman, Blessing Okagbare is expected to lead Team Nigeria to Glasgow 2014
Nigeria’s Athletics High Performance Director, Eric Campbell, has assured that the athletes would perform well in the quadrennial games despite that many think that Team Nigeria’s athletes did not prepare well ahead of the Games.
This raises the question on how far Nigeria can go at the Games billed to end on Sunday, August 3.
Already the athletes have started looking good on the medals table through weighlifting. On Friday, 16-year-old Chika Amalaha won Gold medal in the women’s 53 kg weight class at the 2014 Games, setting a new Commonwealth Games records (NCGRs) – snatch of 85kg, clean and jerk of 111 – totalling 196kg (NCGR).
Prior to that, Nkechi Opara had come third in the 48kg weight category, behind India’s Gold and Silver winners, Sanjita Khumukcham and Mirabai Chanu Saikhom, after lifting a total of 162kg.
Campbell has remained optimistic that Africa’s most populous nation will do well at the Games.
He said: “On our part, we have been able to guide athletes on the nature of foods they ought to take to enhance their performance, irrespective of individual’s ability.
“I’m aware that the target was for the country to surpass the medal record in the last championship, especially in gold, and hopefully, we will achieve that.
“Nigeria is blessed with abundant talents based on what I have observed since I was asked to come in and assist in ensuring that the athletes record improved performance.”
Nigeria will, as usual, participate in their traditional 100m, 200m and 400m, including the relays and hurdles as athletics begins today.
Four years ago, the duo of Tosin Oke in the triple jump and Ajoke Odumosu in the 400m hurdles stood out as the country’s shining stars in track and field, as they struck gold in their respective events to ensure that the Nigerian anthem was played at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India.
As the world turns its attention to the 2014 edition, the burning question on the minds of many is how Nigeria will fare this time around. Leading Team Nigeria’s conquest for medals is none other than sprinter/jumper, Blessing Okagbare, who is making her debut at the quadrennial championship, and who, almost solely, bears the burden of salvaging the country’s pride at the event.
Okagbare, the African 100m record-holder, is expected to take part in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and probably the long jump – though the gruelling schedule may not allow her to make an attempt for four medals in the space of one week.
The 25-year-old has particularly been active in the Diamond League this season where she featured majorly in the sprints, while only competing in the long jump in Shanghai, where she set a Meeting Record (MR) with a leap of 6.86m.
Okagbare faces the daunting task of securing her first Commonwealth Games title in the 100m in a field that has an intimidating line-up comprising Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Veronica Campbell-Brown, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye, who comes to the competition with the fastest time of 10.85secs.
Okagbare went against the Jamaican duo only last week at the Diamond League in Monaco, where Campbell-Brown placed second (10.96s) behind United States’ Tori Bowie, who blew the rest of the field away with a World Lead (WL) of 10.80s.
Though Okagbare raced to a Season’s Best (SB) of 10.97s, she finished fourth, just behind Cote d’Ivoire’s Murielle Ahour who was given the same time.
However, 200m Olympic Champion, Allyson Felix, placed fifth, and World sprint double champion, Fraser-Pryce, was sixth, both with SBs of 11.01s.
The Nigerian sprinter, however, seems to stand a better chance of winning gold in the 200m, which has been her focus for the better part of this season.
Okagbare currently tops the 200m standings in the Diamond League and looks the favourite to clinch the Commonwealth title ahead of Fraser-Pryce, who is yet to hit optimum fitness this year.
Though it is not certain if the Beijing 2008 bronze medallist will compete in the long jump, the event seems like a sure medal prospect for Nigeria if she participates, considering that the Americans, led by triple World Champion, Brittney Reese, and World Lead this season, Tianna Bartoletta, are not part of the Commonwealth Games.
Defending champion in the men’s triple jump, Oke, may need to jump beyond 17 metres to retain the title he won in India. He finished fourth at his last outing at the Glasgow Diamond League two weeks ago with a leap of 16.51m, though behind three Americans, who again will play no part at the Games, so that may bode well for his chances of defending his title.
Oke’s PB of 17.23m was set at the national trials in Calabar in 2012 in the run-up to the London Olympics.
Nigeria will also have an outside chance of a medal in the women’s 400m, though it is certain that defending champion, Amantle Montsho of Botswana, will not give up her title without a fight – the African champion has an SB of 50.37s.
The likes of Novlene Williams-Mills (50.05s) and Stephanie Ann MacPherson (50.40s) of Jamaica have all posted fastest times than Team Nigeria’s Regina George in the Diamond League.
George comes to the Games with an SB of 51.39s and placed sixth in Glasgow (51.82s) a fortnight ago. She would also have to contend with compatriots – Folashade Abugan, Omolara Omotosho and Patience Okon-George – who all denied her a medal at the national trials, as she relinquished her Nigerian crown from 2012 and 2013 with a fourth place finish.
The quartet of George, Abugan, Omotosho and Okon-George should win at least silver in the 4x400m at the games, if they can replicate the kind of form that saw them win a brilliant bronze medal at the inaugural IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas in May, in the third fastest time ever run by a Nigerian female quartet in the 4x400m!
Team Great Britain could also pose a threat, if Christine Ohuruogu can find the kind of form that has so far eluded her this season. But don’t bet against Team Nigeria running Jamaica very close for the gold!
An interesting twist to this year’s Commonwealth Games outing is the inclusion of at least five American athletes who recently secured the Nigerian passport and were selected to compete at the Games. They include Dominique Duncan (100m), Mark Jelks (100m), Monzavous Edwards (100m), Nichole Denby (100m Hurdles) and Tyrone Akins (110 Hurdles).
Jelks placed first (10.23s) and Edwards second (10.39s) in the 100m at the national trials in Calabar last month. They will face a Herculean task as far as reaching the podium in Scotland is concerned.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson ran 9.82s (a WL at the time) in June while Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade (9.97s) and Nesta Carter (9.98s) have also run under 10 seconds, a feat which is still yet to be achieved by a Nigerian sprinter since 2006.
Will Nigeria’s American recruits break the nation’s eight-year duck when it comes to sub-10 second sprinting?
They would almost certainly must, to have any realistic hope of coming away with a medal at the Glasgow games!
Aside athletics, Team Nigeria will parade a total of 127 athletes who will represent the country in six other sports namely: table tennis, wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, shooting and para-sports.
One of Africa’s most decorated table tennis players, Segun Toriola, who has been named as captain of Team Nigeria, will spearhead the chances of the country in the ping pong event.
Toriola lines up alongside Aruna Quadri, Ojo Onaolapo, Bode Abiodun and Jide Ogidiolu to fly Nigeria’s flag at Glasgow.
Making her fourth appearance at the Games having debuted at the 2002 Manchester Games, Toriola will be in charge of the 127-man contingent representing Nigeria at the 11-day multi-sports tournament.
Her wealth of experience, which made the National Sports Commission (NSC) to name him Team Nigeria’s captain will be called to task as the country‘s men team has been drawn alongside Bangladesh, Mauritius and Kiribati.
Team Nigeria placed ninth at the last Games in New Delhi, India in 2010 with 11 gold, eight silver and 14 bronze medals.
Since appearing for the first time in 1950, Nigeria has never missed out of the Games. Its best outing was in 1994 when the City Of Victoria, Canada, hosted.