Okowa Aims Improved Performance At Paris 2024

• Tonobok Okowa is striving for an improved performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics,
• He aims for more athletes to achieve the qualification mark before the July 1st deadline.
• The 33rd edition of the Games will be held from July 26 to August 11.

Eko Hot Blog reports that Tonobok Okowa, the President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, is striving for an improved performance by Nigerian athletes at this year’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with more athletes achieving the qualification mark before the window closes on July 1st.

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At the 2020 Tokyo edition, Nigeria secured only one medal in athletics—a bronze by Ese Brume in the women’s long jump event—despite fielding 14 athletes (seven males and seven females) after 10 others were disqualified for missing pre-competition doping tests.

With just over three months remaining until the start of the Paris 2024, Okowa anticipates more athletes will qualify through various continental championships and the national trials.

“My interest is for us to do way better than Tokyo, and the competitions we have ahead will serve as a litmus test for us,” Okowa told our correspondent.

“We are preparing to go to the world relays, where we will try as much as possible to qualify for all of them.

“We are working on all the relays, and if there is anyone else, we have other competitions in the window, including the Senior Africa Athletics Championship in Cameroon, the Region II in Ghana, and the National Trials. These are opportunities for us to qualify those who haven’t in the individual and relays.”

Okowa expressed confidence that more athletes will achieve the Olympic qualification marks as he reflected on the performance of some foreign-based athletes in the outdoor season.

“This is the starting point; the outdoor season has just started, and it is three months or a little more to the Olympics. So, athletes can do a build-up and start all over again, and they will come out smoking. You will see a lot more that will still qualify,” he noted.

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Here are the Nigerian athletes who have already qualified for the Paris Olympic Games: Tobi Amusan (women’s 100m hurdles), Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (men’s shot put), Ese Brume (women’s long jump), Ruth Usoro (women’s long jump), Favour Ashe (men’s 100m), Udodi Onwuzurike (men’s 200m), Emmanuel Bamidele (men’s 400m), Edose Ibadin (men’s 800m), Ezekiel Nathaniel (men’s 400m hurdles), and Favour Ofili (women’s 200m).

The Paris Olympic Games are the 33rd edition of the Games and will take place from July 26 to August 11.

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