Athletics: Okowa hails youth development after three YOG titles
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on P.M. News
The president of the Nigerian Athletics Federation, Tonobok Okowa, sees the three gold medals at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games as proof that youth development is progressing. Nigeria finished fourth in the athletics standings, behind Ethiopia, China and Kenya, according to P.M. News.
The president of the Nigerian Athletics Federation, Tonobok Okowa, described Nigeria’s athletics performance at the fourth Youth Olympic Games in Dakar as encouraging, with Nigeria winning three gold medals to finish fourth in the discipline’s standings. Ethiopia topped the standings with five gold and three silver medals, ahead of China and Kenya, according to P.M. News.
“For us, it was a good outing. Some events where we had an advantage did not go in our favour, and that was not unique to Nigeria. We went there with about five athletes, and they performed well,” said Tonobok Okowa, who is also senior vice-president of the Confederation of African Athletics.
The official believes these results show that the federation’s work in identifying and developing young talent is beginning to bear fruit. He also praised the contribution of the National Sports Commission, coaches, technical officials and federation members, while calling for increased institutional support and funding to go beyond youth competitions.
“Our objective is to win gold medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships,” he insisted. The federation plans to bring the athletes into camp at the beginning of next year, under a three-phase programme already discussed with the National Sports Commission, with the African Under-18 and Under-20 Championships as a priority.
