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By Oluwole Francis
Technical Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Samuel Onikeku, said the African Championships in Douala recently held in Cameroon would help the Federation re-evaluate its team for the Paris Olympics.
Onikeku said the Douala Meet has provided the opportunity for the Federation and the athletes room for reassessment as well as identifying areas where corrections can be made in preparations for the Olympics.
“It’s good to compete with other people. And we saw the performances of most of our athletes especially those that have qualified for the Olympics. So the competition in Cameroon has given us an opportunity to be able to know the areas to make some little changes and corrections.
“The competition in Cameroon has given us an opportunity to be able to know the areas to see make some little changes and corrections preparatory to the Olympic Games and the Federation is very happy with Team Nigeria’s performance.
“Paris is a competition that we have been preparing for in the past three years. And it shows that our preparations are going as planned with the number of athletes that have qualified. This is the first time in the history of Nigeria that four relay teams will be going to Paris to represent the country so we are okay. We want to do our best in Paris.
“Handing over of the athletes from the Ministry (of Sports Development) to NOC will take place very soon and our athletes will be among those athletes that will be there. So immediately after that the team will move to Germany.
“Our intention is that at the Paris Olympic Stadium, we want our national anthem to be played when our athletes are on the podium. So we believe that will work and that will come to pass so that is what we are expecting. We believe that by the grace of God please we’ll do well.”
