World Championships: Egwero, others ready to ‘squeeze water out of stone’

Nigerian athletes have been left on their own devices as preparations hots up for the World Championships happening August 10-18 in Moscow, Russia.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN had planned a month-long camping for the team selected at the Cross River/All Nigeria Championships decided in June, but having failed to secure funds to make that happen, the athletes were left to train on their own.

“We are still waiting for the AFN to tell us the next line of action. It is regrettable that we are not having any special preparations for the World Championships, just like other major athletics countries.



“However, we will make do with the little we have. All the athletes are preparing on  their own. On my part, I am ready to go there and give it my best,” said sprinter Ogho-Oghene Egwero.

Egwero ran a personal best of 10.16secs at the CAA permit meet in Warri. He is looking to better his time with an appearance in the final of the 100m event at Moscow 2013. He made his first World Championships appearance in Berlin 2009.

AFN president Chief Solomon Ogba, who is desirous of ending Nigeria’s unfruitful medal chase at international events, expressed optimism that his charges will do well in Russia.

“It is a bit frustrating when you have a plan and the funds to implement it are not just there. We can  only  hope  that we  get  the  kind  support  other federations get from their respective countries. However, we are hoping to do well in Russia,” he  assured.

World Championships 2013: AFN still searching for funds to camp athletes

With only a month left for the IAAF World Championships to begin, Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN is yet to commence final rehearsals for its team. And from all indications, Nigeria is likely to bank on the element of luck to win a medal in Moscow, Russia.

It was gathered that the AFN is still searching for funds to start camping of the selected athletes as efforts by the board led by Solomon Ogba has yielded no result.

[caption id="attachment_352464" align="alignnone" width="412"] Oshomhole with Edo athletes[/caption]

“There is a saying that it is only money that can bring your plans to fruition. We would have loved to camp the athletes for at least two weeks. But for now there is no such thing, we have no funds to make the camping happen.   “Our major worry is our relay teams. They have a good chance to win medals for us, but if they don’t practice, we would have to go there and try harder,” said an official of the federation yesterday.

He added that the only avenue opened for the relay teams to fine-tune their strategy will be on July 26, when Lagos State is likely to host an athletics meet.

“After that we are hopeful that we will get some funds to at least have a week of concentrated preparation before the championships.”

Meanwhile IAAF president, Lamine Diack has disclosed that more countries will watch the events of the World Championships live, as broadcasting agreements are in place covering more territories than ever before in the history of the IAAF World Championships.

The 14th edition of the championships will be the largest global sporting event of the year, with  an anticipation that the nine days of action will reach a cumulative audience of more than five billion TV viewers.

“We eagerly await nine days of scintillating action during which the cream of Russian athletics, names like Yelena Isinbayeva, Anna Chicherova and Ivan Ukhov will compete in front of their home fans alongside world stars of the calibre of Usain Bolt, Allyson Felix and Tyson Gay. It’s any true sports fan’s dream,” said Diack.