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| NOC President, Sani Ndanusa |
I can reveal with authority again that our officials are either
deliberate liars who revel in fooling themselves thinking they are fooling the
nation. Nigeria entered an unqualified athlete for the Olympics. I can also
predict ahead that the athlete will NOT compete. I can also say that she will not even be in the Games Village as you read this report. I stand to be corrected.
The athlete is ESTHER OBIEKWE. On the list of the nation’s entry for the
London 2012 Olympics, she was claimed will be competing in marathon. This athlete
is not on the IAAF Top Athletes for Women Marathon. Infact, there’s no Nigerian
in the list for both men and women.
The B standard for qualifying for London Olympic marathon event is
2.43:00. Please Sunny Oluku’s report (below) to see her records which is a far
cry from the Olympic qualifier.
Secondly, I have gone to look at the requirements for qualifying for the
event. (See Marathon & Race Walk below).
So, the issue is, who is deceiving Nigerians?
Marathon &
Race Walk
A list of qualifying competitions
for the Marathon and Race Walking events, which meet the IAAF’s
qualifying criteria, will be
produced by the IAAF by 1 January 2011. The first 20 runners in the Men’s
Marathon and in the Women’s Marathon
in the World Championships in Athletics of Daegu (Republic of
Korea) 2011 and the top 10
finishers at the IAAF Gold Label Marathons in 2011 and 2012 (held during the qualification
period) will also be considered as having achieved the “A” qualification
standard.
Nigeria's Obiekwe heads to 116th Boston Marathon 2012
By Sunny Oke Oluku |
Nigeria’s Esther Obiekwe, also known
as "the Running Banker", is the sole Nigerian representative
at the 116th Boston Marathon on Monday April 16, 2012.
Obiekwe will rub shoulders with 34
Elite Athletes from around the world, majority of them Africans in Boston.
Reigning champions from Kenya, Geoffrey Mutai and Caroline Kilel, will defend
their titles, but will be challenged by the fastest men’s and women’s fields
ever assembled for the Boston Marathon.
The Boston
Marathon is the world's oldest marathon, and also one of only 3
marathons in the world which require a qualifying time (along with the Olympics
and World Championships). With 31 contenders setting their personal best time
in the past two years, including eight men under 2:07 and ten women under 2:24,
the race will prove highly competitive.
The Boston Athletic Association,
which is the race organizer, has reviewed its records, and verifies Miss
Obiekwe as the sole Nigerian participant this year, as she has been since 2000.
"I am deeply honoured to
represent Nigeria after the country's extended absence in the Boston Marathon,
and am excited to run a personal record," Obiekwe said.
She clocked 3:36:40 at the 42km Dubai Marathon early last
year to improve on her previous time of 3:49:55. And at the 38th Berlin
Marathon in September 2011, she lowered her personal best (PB)
further to 3:28:00. At the 2012 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon in January, she made
some mistakes and finished at 3:49:40.
Obiekwe's coach, James
Lafferty, a former CEO of Nigerian Bottling Company who now resides
in The Philippines, said: "It is not reflective of the amazing breadth of
talent in Nigeria that Esther is the sole participant from Nigeria this
century.
"I believe it is more a matter
of continuing to develop distance running in the country and to find more
sponsors to defray the significant costs to send each athlete to Boston."
"Nigerians are strong and
resilient and with proper support can compete with the East Africans that
currently dominate the sport," he added.
Obiekwe's story indeed is
impressive. The 36-year-old Banker, whose hobby is running, currently works at
Fidelity Bank Plc, Lagos and uses her annual vacations to run marathons.
"I love running and I am lucky
to run with other professionals in a local running club based in Ikoyi."
Obiekwe stated.
"Most of us use our vacations
to run marathons and I am thankful for my organization which also supports my
active lifestyle. I was also discovered by the club Coach Jim Lafferty".
After adopting an early morning
training regimen, she finished as the top Nigerian in the 2010 Athens Marathon,
followed by continual improvements in Dubai and Berlin in 2011.
She is presently the top ranked
Nigerian Female marathoner on the international circuit, on top of her
demanding role as a corporate banker.
As Obiekwe says, "it’s a
challenge to juggle a career and elite running career, but I thrive on
challenges".
Get your facts straight. Esther Obiekwe selflessly gives of her time and money to support youth running and develop distance running in Nigeria. She is a wonderful human being and the best of Nigeria. She was ASKED to participate as a NON QUAIFIED athlete (each federation can enter one non qualified athlete) as a means to develop youth female distance running. She was to pay her own way to London, 100% of the costs being borne privately. AFN did not pay a single naira for her to go. Why do you attack someone like this? Get your facts straight.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous does not know that you have to qualified to compete at the olympics.Esther did not meet the standard and her name should not have been on that list.The reporter never attacked her in the first place.Esther should be mad at NOC and AFN for making her look like a fool.
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