In 2012, Environment Athletics and the Confederation of Africa Athletics (CAA) established the Substantial Functionality Centre at the College of Port Harcourt for Nigerian athletes and their counterparts in some neighbouring African countries to sharpen their abilities.
The Centre in Port Harcourt is a person of the 7 recognized in Africa by WA and CAA. The some others are in Cairo, Dakar, Lusaka, Lome, Mauritius and Nairobi.
Two a long time after the establishment of the Centre in Port Harcourt, the Federal Govt keyed into it by signing an arrangement in Casablanca, Morocco. Considering the fact that then the nation’s athletics has recorded large enhancement, significantly in the quick sprints.
To the Director of the Significant Functionality Centre in Port Harcourt, Prof. Ken Anugweje, the early time sort of some Nigerian athletes, mainly the pupil athletes taking part in collegiate competitions in the United States of The united states, and a several other folks primarily based at property, is as a end result of the marketed basis they went via at the Centre before they travelled overseas.
Favour Ofili, who produced large headline in Usa very last Saturday by smashing Blessing Okagbare’s 200m Nationwide Document, applied the Significant General performance Centre in Port Harcourt to fantastic her skills among 2015 and 2016.
“It is a factor of joy for us at Substantial Efficiency Centre in Port Harcourt to see the likes of Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, Grace Nwokocha, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Raymond Ekevwo and Praise Ofoku to prosper in their athletics occupation,” Prof. Anugweje told The Guardian in a telephone chat yesterday.
The general performance by Ofili, Ofoku, Nwokocha and other folks have presented the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) wonderful hope, especially in the make up to the African Senior Athletics Championship in Mauritius, the Earth Championship in Eugene, Oregon and the Commonwealth Video games in Birmingham, England.
Ofili ran a new national document of 21.96s in the 200m to gain the Tom Jones Memorial Typical 2022, getting to be the initial Nigerian woman and collegiate athlete at any time to run sub 22 seconds in excess of the length.
The 19-12 months previous is the top ranked athlete in the function in the world so far this yr, and the only one particular to run inside of 22 seconds.
Indoors, Ofili is also the only Nigerian woman at any time to run a sub 23 seconds over the 200m distance. She is also ranked the eighth fastest girl so significantly in the globe above the 100m distance just after strengthening her own greatest to 11.00 seconds a forth evening in the past.
On her element, Rosemary Chukwuma has a personal most effective of 11.05 seconds, though Grace Nwokocha has a season’s most effective of 11.13 seconds in the 100 metres.
One more solution of the Port Harcourt High Functionality Centre, Raymond Ekevro, who is the reigning African Video games 100m winner, is returning to reckoning right after an harm in 2021. The 23-calendar year-aged ran 10.11 seconds in the celebration previous weekend at Walnut, California.
In the 400m hurdles, Ezekiel Nathaniel, is hunting to turn into the to start with Nigerian in seven a long time and the fourth in the record of the event to run a sub 49 seconds following submitting an extraordinary 49.11 seconds in the direction of the close of previous month.
According to Prof. Anugweje, the 3 coaches, who coach the athletes at the Significant Efficiency Centre in Port Harcourt, Seigha Porbeni (Head Mentor), George Obiano and Mavuah Esabunor are among the the finest in the earth.
“Some of athletes trained under mentor Mavuah Esabunor at our Ughelli Centre mainly because of their college, though other individuals ended up in Port Harcourt, where by they perfected the ability of combining stamina, speed and energy in overpowering their opponents on the track. That is was what Nigerian athletics is reaping from at the second,” Anugweje mentioned.
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