Sports Minister, Senator John Enoh, has encouraged Tobi Amusan, Ese Brume and other Nigerian athletes at the 2023 World Athletics Championship to hold their own and bounce back after failing to win medals at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
The minister’s message was delivered to the athletes by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Secretary General, Rita Mosinde, at the team’s Park Inn Hotel Radisson in Budapest.
Amusan could not defend her world title as she finished sixth in the final of the women’s 100m hurdles event. She lost her crown to 2015 champion, Danielle Williams at the National Athletics Stadium in Budapest on Thursday night.
“The minister is very proud of your performance even though it wasn’t the result we would have wanted. With all of the circumstances of the last few weeks, Amusan still showed why she is highly revered.
“The same can be said for Ese Brume, Favour Ofili, Alaba Akintola, Chioma Onyekwere, Sade Olatoye and all other Nigerian athletes that participated in the championship. I urged them all to use the experience from Budapest as another learning curve and take pride in the fact you competed favourably at the highest level.
As we learn the lessons from Budapest, we will work towards better appearances in the future,” the minister stated.
On Thursday, Favour Ofili and Alaba Akintola both lost in the women’s and men’s 200m semifinals respectively.
However, despite losing the 100m crown on Thursday, Amusan still holds the world record she set last year in Oregon, United States, while Favour Ofili remains the African indoor record holder in the women’s 200m, and Alaba Akintola, a Commonwealth bronze medallist.
Guardian/Adukwu William
