Principal Special Assistant on Grassroots Sports Development to Lagos State Governor, Wale Oladunjoye, says the state will build on the records achieved by its athletes at the just-concluded Development Agenda for Western Nigerian (DAWN) Games.
Wale Oladunjoye
Team Lagos garnered 23 gold, 15 silver and 10 bronze medals in athletics at the end of the Games, with Team Ogun in distant second position with five gold, 12 silver and seven bronze medals.
“We’ll not rest on our oars, as we are preparing hard for the forthcoming National Sports Festival (NSF) billed for Calabar, Cross River State.
“Athletics is one of the events we are targeting to win good laurels at the NSF, and the only way to achieve the set aims is to build on the feat we achieved at the just-concluded DAWN Games,” said Oladunjoye.
A member of Team Lagos 4x100m (Boys) relay squad, Ikoku Onengi, who won silver medal behind Team Ogun, said improvement on their performance is non-negotiable.
“We are not going to rest, but to ensure that we do better than what we achieved at the DAWN Games. We must thank the state’s sports-loving governor, Babatunde Fashola, for his encouragement and support,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, Ruth Usoro, who was a member of the gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team for Team Lagos, enthused that the team will work harder to do well in subsequent competitions.
“We had a good outing at the DAWN Games, which contributed to our leading on the overall medals table at the end of the Games.
“But that is not all; we need to stay focused and work harder to achieve good results in subsequent competitions, especially at the forthcoming NSF in Calabar.
“We thank the state government for the well-organised DAWN Games and the success achieved by the state at the end of the Games.
“Now we must look forward to more laurels and do the state proud at the NSF later in the year,” she said.
Team Lagos garnered a total of 89 gold, 60 silver and 28 bronze medals to win the Games with a total of 177 medals, while Team Ogun placed second with a total of 77 medals (15 gold, 29 silver and 33 bronze). Team Oyo placed third with seven gold, 18 silver and 43 bronze medals, with a total of 68 medals.
All the South West states, with the exception of Ondo, participated in the one week sporting events hosted by Lagos.