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Nairobi 2010: AFN praises athletes
Written by Duncan Tuesday, 03 August 2010
ShareThe Athletic Federation of Nigeria has commended
the athletes that represented the country at the 17th African Athletic
Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.
Nigeria came second with
18 medals – eight gold, five silver and five bronze. Hosts Kenya led the
medals table with 25 medals – 10 gold, seven silver and eight bronze –
while South Africa came third with six gold, seven silver and six bronze
medals.
AFN President Solomon Ogba said the athletes had the potential to make Nigeria great in athletics.
He
said, ”The athletes gave their best to come up with the results we had.
Their efforts were appreciated by the Kenyan fans who had thought it
would be easy for their athletes to dominate the championships.
”Nigeria‘s
performance impressed many of the veteran athletes at the event. Even
former 200 metres world record holder Namibia‘s Frankie Fredericks
admitted that we are getting back to reckoning in athletics.
”We
have athletes that are willing to give their all to win laurels for
Nigeria. I hope we can achieve more in future competitions but that
depends largely on the availability of funds.”
AFN 2nd Vice-President Gloria Chukwukere said the athletes made Nigeria proud at the event.
”We could have done better and we will continue to improve,” she said.
”We
are satisfied with the performance. We went with a manageable team and
considering the number of the athletes we went with, Nigeria should be
commended for coming second behind the hosts.”
Chukwukere
urged the government to invest more in athletics, adding that the track
and field events could earn more laurels for the country at major
events.
She said, ”We need to train our coaches and
encourage the athletes to get the best out of them. There is also the
need to improve on our facilities.”
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