Complete Track And Field Nigeria

Who's your favourite to win the Men’s and Women’s Athlete of the Year awards?

100m WOMEN ENTRY LIST FOR LAUSANNE DIAMOND LEAGUE:

Can Ta Lou make it three Diamond League wins on the bounce after winning in Florence and Oslo?
CIV AHOURÉ-DEMPS, Murielle

NZL HOBBS, Zoe

SUI KAMBUNDJI, Mujinga

GBR LANSIQUOT, Imani

GER LÜCKENKEMPER, Gina

GBR NEITA, Daryll

POL SWOBODA, Ewa

CIV TA LOU, Marie-Josée

100m HURDLES WOMEN ENTRY LIST FOR LAUSANNE DIAMOND LEAGUE:

ALI, Nia

AMUSAN, Tobi

CAMACHO-QUINN, Jasmine

JOHNSON, Alaysha

JONES, Tia

KAMBUNDJI, Ditaji

SKRZYSZOWSKA, Pia

VISSER, Nadine

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President Buhari Flags Off Torch Of Unity For 21st National Sports Festival

President Muhammadu Buhari has flagged off the Torch of Unity signifying the commencement of the 21st National Sports Festival (NSF), tagged "Delta 2022".

At the ceremony which took place Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President expressed his delight over the forthcoming Festival which he described as the engine room for producing great champions that will represent the country at international competitions.

He stated that, all outstanding stars that have written the name of the country in gold were born out of the National Sports Festival which clearly shows that the resources government is investing in sporting activities is not a waste.

Represented by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the President commended the Main Organising Committee (MON) as well as the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for their commitment and doggedness towards ensuring the successful hosting of the games.

While reiterating his administration's commitment to the development of sports in the country, he explained that sports has remained a unifying platform for Nigerians and as such, government will continue to invest in it.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare described the Sports Festival as Nigerian version of the Olympic Games where the best and brightest athletes are selected to represent the country at international çompetitions.

He stated further that the Touch of Unity Movement being flagged off by Mr President will travel round the 36 States of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory and will finally arrive at Delta which is the host State of the Festival.

Also speaking, the Executive Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa assured of his states' readiness to deliver the best Festival that will culminate into an outstanding 2024 Olympic outing.

According to him, sports represent peace and unity in the country and as such the Delta state will leave no stone unturned in ensuring a peaceful, unique and formidable sports festival in the history of Nigeria.

He challenged the participating States to come and compete with Delta State, being the leading sporting State in the Competitions.

Ayana runs fastest ever women's marathon debut with 2:17:20 in Amsterdam

Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana ran 2:17:20 to achieve the fastest ever women's marathon debut and win a high-quality clash at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (16).

Setting a Dutch all-comers’ record, Ayana won the head-to-head against her fellow global track gold medallist and compatriot Genzebe Dibaba, who was also making her marathon debut, while Tsegaye Getachew made it an Ethiopian double, winning the men’s race in a PB of 2:04:49.

The women’s race in Amsterdam featured a trio of notable debutants and despite going up against some more experienced opponents when it comes to marathon running, the spotlight was on Ayana, Dibaba and their compatriot Tsehay Gemechu.

Ayana won world 5000m gold in 2015 and the world 10,000m title in 2017 as well as Olympic 10,000m gold in a world record in 2016, while Dibaba set the world 1500m record in 2015, going on to win the world title in that event later that year. Gemechu, meanwhile, finished fourth in the 5000m at the 2019 World Championships and they all formed part of the lead women’s group that followed male pacemakers through 5km in 16:13 and 10km in 32:43. They remained to the fore through the halfway point, passed in 1:09:26, and then started to break away from the group, going through 25km in 1:22:06 and 30km in 1:38:04.

Gemechu managed to hold on until 33km but was dropped by Ayana and Dibaba a short while later, Ayana a stride ahead as she reached 35km in 1:54:01.

Looking untroubled, Ayana eased away from Dibaba and was half a minute clear at 40km, passed in 2:10:07. She continued to push on and grew her advantage to 45 seconds by the finish, clocking 2:17:20 to beat the previous fastest ever women’s marathon debut time of 2:17:23 achieved by Yalemzerf Yehualaw in Hamburg in April.

The performance puts Ayana seventh on the women's world marathon all-time list, while Dibaba is now in the world marathon all-time top 20 thanks to her 2:18:05 run for second place.

Gemechu also dipped under 2:19, clocking 2:18:59 to finish third, while Eritrea’s Nasnet Amanuel ran 2:22:45 to finish fourth on her debut. Bahrain’s 2017 world champion Rose Chelimo finished fifth in 2:23:12.

"I have no words for this. This is very special and I am very happy," said Ayana. "It was very tough after my Olympic title in 2016 with injuries and pain. I am grateful for my husband, son and management for all the support."

Culled from World Athletics

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CJ Ujah: ‘I made a mistake, I’m not a cheat’

--British sprinter said after receiving 22-month ban

CJ Ujah has told the Guardian he is not a cheat after the Athletics Intergrity Unit, AIU, banned him for 22 months on Monday albeit the body found him not to have breached track and field’s doping rules on purpose.

“Obviously, I made a mistake,” Ujah told The Guardian. “But people mistakes. I am not a cheat.

“I think complacency set in. During the (coronavirus) pandemic I relied a lot on Amazon, rather than using the people and resources around me. It was just convenient, with next-day delivery. And I didn’t think anything was wrong with it.”

Ujah was part of the British quartet, along with Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Richard Kilty, which missed out on gold to Italy in Tokyo by 0.01 seconds.

“You know what? I wish I had been tested right before the Olympics, so that I never went,” Ujah added.

“That way, I would never have put these other three guys, my team-mates, through what they went through as well as myself.”

Kilty, according to The Guardian said he would never be able to forgive his former team-mate.

“What he (Ujah) has done has been reckless,” Kilty said. “Everything has been a team effort to get to that position to be part of the British 4×100 strike four.

“Now he’s made that mistake I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him because me, Zharnel and Nethaneel have lost a medal at the hands of his mistakes.”

Responding to Kilty’s comments, Ujah said: “Reckless is a harsh word. I saw the criticism from Kilty and I can’t blame him.

“He’s got a family. He’s got kids. So I do sympathise with him and understand the position he’s coming from.”

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Behold the new Glo Ambassador...Tobiloba Ayomide Amusan, World 100m hurdles champion and record holder!

Ratified: world records for Amusan, Duplantis and McLaughlin

The world records set by Tobi Amusan, Mondo Duplantis and Sydney McLaughlin at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 have been ratified.

Amusan’s 12.12 in the women’s 100m hurdles semifinals, Duplantis’s 6.21m in the men’s pole vault final and McLaughlin’s 50.68 in the women’s 400m hurdles final are all now officially in the record books, as is the world U20 mark of 9.94 set by Letsile Tebogo in the men’s 100m heats.

McLaughlin’s was the first of the senior records to fall at this year's World Athletics Championships, the US 23-year-old obliterating her own previous world record with a time of 50.68. It is the fourth world 400m hurdles record of McLaughlin’s career following her 51.90 at the 2021 US Olympic Trials, 51.46 at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and 51.41 achieved at this year’s US Championships. That 51.41 has also now been ratified.

Since 2019 – in less than three years – the world record has been improved by almost two seconds. The mark of 52.34 had stood for 16 years before USA’s Dalilah Muhammad took it to 52.20 and then 52.16. On 27 June 2021, McLaughlin broke it for the first time.

“The time is absolutely amazing and the sport is getting faster and faster,” said McLaughlin. “Just figuring out what barriers can be broken. I only get faster from here.

“The level in the 400m hurdles is certainly improving. We have a full group of girls that are willing to push our bodies to the next level and we are seeing times drop.”

Two days later, during the final session of the World Athletics Championships, Amusan and Duplantis ensured that the event ended on an incredible high.

After clocking an African record of 12.40 in the 100m hurdles heats, the world was put on notice that 25-year-old Amusan was capable of something special.

The next day, she ran 12.12 (0.9m/s) in the semifinals to improve the world record of 12.20 that had been set by USA’s Kendra Harrison in London in 2016. Amusan wasn’t done there, though, and she followed that remarkable performance with a wind-assisted 12.06 (2.5m/s) to win the final.

“The goal was to come out and to win this gold,” she said. “Honestly, I believe in my abilities, but I was not expecting a world record at these championships.”

While Amusan might not have been banking on a world record, Duplantis’s development means that there is a certain level of expectation whenever he takes to the runway. He lived up to it again in Oregon.

Clearing 6.21m on his second attempt, the Swedish 22-year-old improved his own world record by a centimetre. It was the fifth time that Duplantis had broken the global mark, but the first time that he had achieved the feat outdoors.

Duplantis set his first world record in Torun in February 2020 when he cleared 6.17m and followed that with 6.18m in Glasgow a week later. Then this year, both times in Belgrade, he cleared 6.19m on 7 March and then 6.20m at the World Indoor Championships on 20 March.

The performance in Oregon secured him his first outdoor world title.

“It is the medal I was missing,” he said. “Usually, it (the world record) is always somewhere in the back of my mind, but today I was focused on the win.”

Meanwhile, another record was broken in Oregon when Botswana’s Tebogo stormed to a time of 9.94 (1.1m/s) to win his 100m heat.

That time has now been ratified as a world U20 record, although the 19-year-old did go even faster at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 at the start of August, running 9.91 to win gold. That time is awaiting ratification.

Ratified World Records

Women's world 100m hurdles record
12.12 Tobi Amusan (NGR) Eugene 24 July 2022

Men's world pole vault record
6.21m Mondo Duplantis (SWE) Eugene 24 July 2022

Women’s world 400m hurdles record
50.68 Sydney McLaughlin (USA) Eugene 22 July 2022
51.41 Sydney McLaughlin (USA) Eugene 25 June 2022

Men’s world U20 100m record
9.94 Letsile Tebogo (BOT) Eugene 15 July 2022
Culled from World Athletics

PRESIDENT BUHARI REWARDS COMMONWEALTH GAMES, WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS ATHLETES WITH NATIONAL HONOURS, N200 MILLION



President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja approved National Honours and cash awards of N200 million for Team Nigeria contingents to the 2022 Commonwealth Games and World Athletics championships.



Speaking at a presidential reception in honour of the athletes, the President said his Government is committed to rewarding excellence, no less for members of Team Nigeria who ignited the spirit of victory in the nation through stellar performances at international competitions.



Congratulating all the awardees and recipients, he expressed confidence that this will spur them to greater heights.



The President who described the athletes as champions, worthy ambassadors, national heroes and heroines, heaped praises on them for proudly flying the Nigerian flag in nine sporting events.



''I watched with millions of Nigerians those exciting moments when you all brought smiles to us and our homes by breaking world, national and games records, as well as achieving personal best in your careers.



''Your outstanding performances in recent times are consistent with the determination of a nation always yearning for excellent performance.



''You all, members of Team Nigeria have ignited the spirit for victory in our nation but even more you have been victorious in major sporting championships and games.



''I have followed keenly your achievements at the World Championships in Oregon USA and indeed your remarkable performance at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.



''And I am very pleased that you displayed at both the personal and group levels great sporting talents and delivered for your country great podium performances,'' he said.



The President told the athletes that their hour of sporting glory beamed the ‘‘radar of the world on Nigeria’’, adding that their exploits have gone a long way in projecting the positive image of the country.



''Twelve times the world stood still as our green, white green national flag was hoisted and the National Anthem recited. Thirty-five times we made it to the podium. You all Team Nigeria made that possible.



''You brought glory and honour to our country. And today, on behalf of the nation- I say, THANK YOU!''



President Buhari called out the names of the gold winners and other medal winners including the world champion in the 100m hurdles, Tobiloba Amusan, Ese Brume, Blessing Oborodudu , Oluwafemiayo Folashade, Taiwo Liadi, Ikechukwu Obichukwu, Bose Omolayo, Favour Ofili, Nasiru Sule, Ifechukwude Ikpeoyi, Ebikewenimo Welson, Hannah Rueben and Elizabeth Oshoba.



Reiterating the commitment of this administration in providing the enabling environment for youths to ascend to the pinnacle of their chosen careers, the President expressed satisfaction with the impact the Adopt-An-Athlete Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports had on the performance of athletes.



He urged more private individuals and corporate organizations to support government’s investment in sports, which has been reclassified from being a recreational activity to being a business in line with modern practices worldwide.



President Buhari also acknowledged the many giant strides witnessed in the sports sector under the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare and his team, commending the numerous and sustained successes recorded in the last few years.



The Minister of Youth and Sports Development described 2022 as an outstanding year in the history of Nigerian sports, which shall not be forgotten in a hurry.



According to him, it is a year where many Sporting Federations have surpassed and are surpassing their previous performances, while many athletic records were broken.



Highlighting the most remarkable feats, Dare said in track and field, Amusan in a span of 4 months won Nigeria’s first ever gold medal in World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA with a world record performance in an event highly dominated by the Americans and Europeans.



She also successfully defended her Commonwealth Games title, which she won in 2018 in Gold Coast, with a games record in 2022 in Birmingham; and Diamond League title in Zurich, Switzerland on September 8, 2022, the Minister said, adding that this remarkable performance has never been achieved by any Nigerian in the history of our sports.



Further, the Minister said Brume, another trailblazer in Nigerian sports, won silver medal in the Women’s Long Jump event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a games record performance.



Dare recalled that the first time Nigeria won a medal in wrestling at the Olympic Games since 1952, was at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by Oborodudu, who clinched a silver medal to the admiration of the entire globe.



''In confirming that the performance was not a fluke, she won a gold medal in the Women's 68 kg category at the just concluded 2022 Commonwealth Games, '' he said.



Describing Nigeria as the best Para Powerlifting nation in the world, the Minister hailed Oluwafemiayo for keeping with this tradition by winning gold medal in the Women's heavyweight category, setting a new world record in that class at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.



''Mr. President, through the sporting exploits and excellence of the young athletes before you in this hall and several others not able to make it for this reception, Nigeria has served notice that it will not relent.

''That it will show up and compete for every laurel available not only in sports but in youth development, economic progress, social emancipation, political development and many more,'' he said.



The Minister thanked the President for being a great source of encouragement and support to the teeming youth in sports and other areas, saying ''this administration’s investment in youth and sports development, will continue to yield dividends years after you might have completed your term as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.''



He also commended some well-meaning Nigerians and sports philanthropists for keying into several initiatives of the Ministry on sports development.

Sports Minister, AFN President Storm Lagos For Amusan, Brume

Youth and Sports Development Minister, Sunday Dare and President of Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, Tonobok Okowa are expected to grace the unveiling ceremony of two of Nigeria's brightest and best track and field stars, Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume as Primus Trust Bank Brand Ambassadors.

The unveiling ceremony holds on Wednesday at Eko Hotels and Suites and the duo of Dare and Okowa have superintended over the brightest moments of Nigerian athletics.

Dare restored order in the AFN after his appointment as Sports Minister in 2019 and through his various projects, particularly the adopt an athlete initiative laid the foundation for the renaissance of sports in Nigeria, especially athletics.

Dare provided the enabling environment for the AFN to rise again after its self-made crisis between 2017 and 2019 and this led to the election of Okowa as President of the federation.

Since Okowa and the new executive board of the AFN assumed leadership of the federation, the profile of the federation has risen in geometrical proportion.

Both Amusan and Brume played huge roles in the federation's rising profile.

Brume won a bronze at the delayed Tokyo Olympics to ensure Nigeria's return to the podium at the quadrennial games 13 years after the country last did.

Amusan also made history when she became the first Nigerian to win a Diamond League discipline at the Diamond League final in Zurich last year.

This year, Brume also ensured Nigeria's return to the podium at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, 14 years after Olusoji Fasuba won a medal at the competition.

The duo also made history at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA in July.

While Amusan became the first Nigerian athlete to win a world outdoor title and set a world record, Brume became the first Nigerian to win medals at two separate editions of the championships.

It was an Amusan and Brume show again at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as they became the first Nigerian track and field athletes to win individual medals at two editions of the Games.

Amusan became the first Nigerian track and field athlete to successfully defend a Commonwealth Games title, Brume became the first athlete in competition history to hit the 7m mark in the long jump event.

Both achieved their golden runs at the Games in record breaking fashion.

Amusan ran a new 12.30 seconds Games record to win the 100m hurdles title while Brume leapt a distance of 7.00m to win the long jump title.

Favour Ashe leaves University of Tennessee for Auburn University

Reigning Nigeria 100m champion Favour Ashe has moved to Auburn University in Alabama to team up with former World record holder, Leroy Burrell who is the head coach at the university.

The 20 year old competed for University of Tennesssee last season and earned United States Track and Field Coaches Association first team All-America honours with his third place finish in the 60m event at the NCAA indoor championships.

He also set the Tennessee Freshman Record in the men's 60m event with the 6.51 seconds he ran at the indoor championships.

Outdoors, Ashe also earned a first team All-America honours in the 100m and 4x100m events. He finished second in the 100m (10.08 seconds) at the NCAA outdoor championships and fourth in the 4x100m race.

The Nigerian could not however make his incredible feats at the NCAA circuit count at the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.

In the former he could not go beyond the semifinal stage while in the latter, he also ended up as a semifinalist.

With his switch, Ashe, who won his first 100m title at the Nigerian championships in Benin city, Edo state in June will be hoping to benefit from the huge experience of Burrell, a former world record holder in the 100m event (9.85s).

Burrell joined Auburn University after spending 23 years as head coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston, where he led the programme to 41 conference championships and coached over 150 All-Americans.

He also established himself as one of USA's premier coaches.He was named Conference USA Coach of the Year 23 times and American Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year 11 times.

In recognition of his outstanding career as a world-class sprinter and collegiate coach, Burrell was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2019.