₦airaland Forum

Beatrice Utondu, Faith Idehen and Christy Opara-Thompson at Barcelona '92.

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[size=14pt]Fatima Yusuf[/size]

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Fatima Yusuf was Nigeria's pre-eminent female athlete in the 400m in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She won gold in the 400m and 4x400m and silver (behind Tina Iheagwam) in the 200m at the 1991 All Africa Games in Cairo.

She was the Commonwealth champion in the 400m and won silver in the 4x100 at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand.

She is also the first African woman to run under 50 secs in the 400 meters. She ran 49.43 at the 1995 African Championship. She came second (behind Falilat Ogunkoya) in the 400m and won gold in the 4x400m at the 1989 African Athletics Championships in Lagos.

She won silver in the 4x400m and came 6th in the 400m at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

She is married to nigerian discus and shot put legend, Adewale Olukoju.

[size=14pt]Innocent Egbunike[/size]

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Innocent Egbunike was one of the best 400 metres runners in the world in the 1980s. He was the african champion in the 200m in 1984 (Rabat '84) and in the 400m in 1985 (Cairo '85) and 1988 (Annaba '88). He also won gold in the 200m at the 1983 World University Games in Canada.

He won bronze in the 4x100 at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and silver in the 400m at the 1987 World Championships in Rome. He set the fastest time in the world in the 400m in Zurich in 1987. This was the Commonwealth record until the 2012 Commonwealth Games and the African record until the 2016 Olympics.

Innocent won gold in the 400m and 4x400m at the All Africa Games in Nairobi in 1987, setting a new african record in the process (he broke the record in Zurich later that year). He still holds the record in the 400m at the Azusa Pacific University in the US.

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He became a coach after retirement in the 1990s. He was coach of the Nigerian track and field team at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, and head coach at the 2008 Olympics. He was coach of Angelo Taylor, the gold medalist in the 400m hurdles at the 2008 Olympics, coach of Chris Brown, the fourth-place finisher in the 400m at the 2008 Olympic Games


4x400 metres final at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

I remember this race very well because of all the funny comments from people around me.

The kid called Innocent Egbunike "Egusinke" (egusi is crying).

This race was run on the final day of the Olympics (just before the closing ceremony) and she was happy when they were raising the flags at the medal ceremony because she thought that Nigeria came third on the overall medals table.

My mum noted that there were five nigerians in the race. She hated nigerians that ran for Britain (Kriss Akabusi [Chris Akagbusi], Daley Thompson [Dele Thompson], etc). Shows you how much times have changed. Nobody would hold it against him today.

The american announcer in the stadium pronounced Sunday Uti's surname as You-tie (you can't hear him in this video). That's what they always called him when he ran in the US. The europeans seemed to be able to pronounce his name without any problems.

The race

We had two stars in this race, Sunday Uti and Innocent Egbunike. Egbunike (with the jherri curls) would go on to become a coach and he coached some of the nigerian athletes that won medals at Atlanta '96 and Sydney 2000.

We were in the top three places from the beginning to the end of the race. Sunday Uti was second (behind the australian) in the first leg. We maintained that position until the american overtook us and the australian in the third leg. Then, at the death, Egbunike overtook the australian, but he was also overtaken by the briton and we ended up third behind the US and Britain.

(This is a british telecast, so they obviously focused on their own athletes. The live feed I saw in '84 was more neutral)


Gold: United States

Ray Armstead
Alonzo Babers
Antonio McKay
Sunder Nix
Walter McCoy (did not run in the final, only ran in the heats)
Willie Smith (did not run in the final, only ran in the heats)

Silver: Great Britain
Kriss Akabusi
Todd Bennett
Phil Brown
Garry Cook

Bronze: Nigeria
Innocent Egbunike
Rotimi Peters
Moses Ugbusien
Sunday Uti


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NucA0Z3qs_I



Video: Innocent Egbunike shocks the Kenyans in Nairobi, winning gold in the 400 and 4x400

(NTA video). Innocent Egbunike wins the 400m (with a huge gap), beating David Kitur of Kenya and Moses Ugbisien of Nigeria.

He then went on to anchor Nigeria to gold in the 4x400. Kenya was leading at the start of the race, followed by Burundi, then Nigeria, but Moses Ugbusien fought hard and overtook both the kenyan and burundian. Joseph Fallaye lost the lead and Henry Amike maintained 2nd place and handed the baton to Egbunike. Egbunike attacked the kenyan and overtook him on the final straight and won with a huge gap, setting a new games record in the process.

[size=14pt]4x400m final at the 1987 All Africa Games in Nairobi[/size]

Nigeria - Gold
Moses Ugbusien
Joseph Fallaye
Henry Amike
Innocent Egbunike



Kenya - silver
John Anzrah
Tito Sawe
Elkana Nyang'au
David Kitur

Burundi - bronze
P.C. Nyabenda
C. Rugerinyange
A. Nsazurwimo
Dieudonné Kwizera


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtDboCRWgyw


[size=14pt]Innocent Egbunike wins the Zurich leg of the IAAF Grand Prix with the fastest time in the world[/size]

(ESPN video) The IAAF Grand Prix was the last meet of the season in 1987 and Egbunike made an impression by winning in the fastest time in 1987, setting a new commonwealth and african record in the process. He beat the briton and american by a huge gap.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J021pNZnlw

[size=14pt]Olapade Adeniken and Dennis Mitchell fight in Zurich hotel[/size]

From the New York Times.

By Ian Thomsen

Published: August 20, 1994

BRUSSELS— The sprinter Dennis Mitchell was permitted to go on earning his living here Friday at the expense of his Nigerian rival, who according to witnesses was kicked in the head by Mitchell while brawling early Thursday morning with the American and his brother.

Mitchell showed up for work here in a fluorescent outfit the color of a spotlight. He had little trouble finishing second in 10.12 seconds to Linford Christie, the winner of the Grand Prix Memorial Van Damme in 10.03.

It might have been tougher if not for the absence of Olapade Adeniken, who had gone home to Austin, Texas, with two stitches over his eye and a mild concussion. On Wednesday night in Zurich, four hours before suffering those injuries, he had beaten Mitchell to third place by one one-hundredth of a second in the season's most crucial sprint.

Mitchell, whose best time of 9.94 is second only to Leroy Burrell's world record of 9.85 this year, was declining to give his side of the story Friday on advice of his attorney, according to Coach John Smith.

If two athletes can fight in front of 40 or 50 colleagues in the official hotel lobby of the world's largest Grand Prix meet - and one goes on to race the next day against a weakened field without fear of punishment - then what's to stop it from happening again?

Christie was asked about Adeniken's injuries and he said, "I'm glad it wasn't me."

It was the first brawl in memory involving two world-class athletic rivals.

Adeniken's agent, Mark Block, said that although he might have recovered enough to compete here, Adeniken had flown home in order to defuse the situation. "He's been running so well lately, we didn't want to take any chances," Block said.

Adeniken and Mitchell face possible suspensions from the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) for bringing the sport into disrepute.

"I will investigate what happened that evening," said Sandro Giovanelli, director of competitions for the IAAF, "but I consider it a personal matter, a private matter, between the two individuals involved. In these cases it's up to the meet organizers to take action."

He will look into it, he was saying, but he couldn't care less. The Brussels meet director, Wilfried Meert, whose event was robbed of a 9.95-second sprinter because he had been beaten up by a rival clan, admitted Thursday that he was powerless to take action against Mitchell.

"It has nothing to do with what people do in their private lives," Giovanelli said. "What concerns us is only what they do or fail to do in the stadiums."

According to several witnesses, the fight started after Mitchell approached Adeniken in the lobby of the Hotel Nova Park at 2 A.M. Thursday to demand an apology. Adeniken asked why, and Mitchell reminded him of their tiff a few days earlier at the airport in North Carolina, after Mitchell's 100-meters victory over Adeniken at the Pan Africa-USA meet.

At the airport, the two sprinters allegedly had to be separated after Mitchell accused Adeniken of speaking badly to Mitchell's mother and girlfriend while in line at the check- in counter. Adeniken has denied criticizing them.

Now, in the hotel lobby, Mitchell was arguing with the larger Adeniken, who is a master of karate. With Mitchell were his brother Tony and his masseuse.

The eyewitness accounts are condensed to the following version:

Adeniken turned his back to walk away, and Mitchell reportedly pushed him down. Several people jumped in to break up the fight, with Adeniken head- butting Tony Mitchell, opening a cut in Mitchell's head. Eventually the powerful American hurdler Roger Kingdom, acting as peacemaker, pinned Adeniken to the ground.

A hotel security guard had subdued Mitchell's masseuse with a choke hold when the American sprinter Jon Drummond, who trains with Mitchell, pulled the security guard away. It is possible that Drummond didn't realize the man was a security guard.

Then Mitchell broke free, ran around the pile of squirming bodies, and reportedly kicked Adeniken in the head.

The rest was like a martial arts movie. Adeniken, woozy and bleeding down his face, was allowed to stand up. With three karate kicks he took out Mitchell's brother, the masseuse - who crashed against the wall with a kick to the chest - and Dennis Mitchell, who left the lobby bleeding from the nose or mouth. Adeniken was then taken to the hospital.

Mitchell has been known for his short temper. He appeared to be reaching his peak this summer - only to have the spotlight turned upon his fellow American when Burrell broke the world record six weeks ago in Lausanne. Burrell has told friends that the next time he raced against Mitchell in Lille, France, Mitchell tried to pick a fight with him.

After Burrell had won in Lille, Mitchell reportedly confronted him, saying, "This is not a boxing match." He accused Burrell of hitting him. Burrell denied it but Mitchell persisted, saying, "You hit me, bitch." Burrell says he turned away, saying, "You aren't anything," or words to that effect.

Block was denying rumors Friday that Adeniken would seek legal action against Mitchell.

The two sprinters had been brought together Thursday by the Zurich meet director and, in effect, were made to shake hands like a couple of schoolboys after a recess brawl.

In the meantime, Adeniken's fellow Nigerian sprinters - Davidson Ezinwa and Daniel Effiong, both having run under 10 seconds this year - were said to be seeking revenge against Mitchell.

"Dennis had better watch his back," one world-class sprinter said. "Contrary to appearances, there are a lot of little things that can be done to hurt someone in the sprints - a little bumping, a little shove. Maybe it would happen in the World Championships or Olympics."

But then, it is only a personal matter.

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/20/sports/20iht-ian_1.html

[size=14pt]US and nigerian superstar athletes brawl in Zurich hotel.[/size]

Would you believe that I didn't hear about this incident on that day. I only found out about it a few days later. There was an event (I think it was the 1994 Commonwealth Games) and Olapade was on the track. I saw a tiny little plaster on one side of his forehead. The camera focused on it and the commentator said that Olapade Adeniken and Dennis Mitchell had fought in a hotel a few days ago. Wow!

I later found out what happened. Olapade had beaten Dennis Mitchell in the heat of the Zurich leg of the Golden League a few hours earlier. Then he was walking through the lobby of the hotel when Dennis Mitchell approached him (Dennis Mitchell was with his brother and masseuse at the time). Mitchell claimed that Olapade had been disrespectful to his mother and girlfriend after a US vs Africa event in the United States a few months before. He claimed that Olapade had said some disrespectful things to the two women at the check-in counter at the airport in the US. Olapade said that no such thing happened. Dennis Mitchell continued to make threatening statements against Olapade and demanded that Olapade apologise, but Olapade just turned round and was about to walk away when Dennis Mitchell pushed him. That was a big mistake.

What the Mitchells did not know was that Olapade has a black belt in karate. Adeniken is also much bigger than Dennis Mitchell.

Several people stepped in to try and break up the fight, but not before Olapade headbutted Tony Mitchell (Dennis' brother) which cut Tony in the head. A big american hurdler pinned Olapade to the ground, while hotel security held Dennis Mitchell's masseuse. Others held Dennis Mitchell down.

Then Dennis broke free and kicked Olapade in the head (that's why Olapade had that plaster), while Olapade was still being held down. Then the people that were holding Olapade left him and he took out Dennis Mitchell, Tony Mitchell and the masseuse with three quick kicks before hotel security were able to gain control of the situation.

Dennis Mitchell was bleeding from the mouth, Olapade was bleeding from a cut in his forehead and Tony Mitchell was also bleeding from a cut in his forehead.

Dennis Mitchell and Olapade Adeniken were two of the most intense guys on the circuit. Other nigerian athletes usually smiled when they were on the track, but Olapade had this intense stare. Dennis Mitchell also had an intense stare and who can ever forget him screaming at Carl Lewis like a mad man (in the 4x100) "Go! Go! Go!".

[size=14pt]Olapade Adeniken[/size]

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The machine called Olapade Adeniken was one of the fastest sprinters in the golden era. He ran the fastest times in the world as if he was going for a stroll. He is the first Nigerian to run under 10 seconds in the 100 metres. His speciality was the IAAF Grand Prix and the Golden League (where the money is) and it was always a delight to watch him beat the British and Americans in those events. He is also an Olympic silver medalist, a silver medalist at the world championships, a multiple silver medalist in the world junior championships, multiple silver medalist at the world university games(by the way, do you remember his brawl with the American Dennis Mitchell? Olapade had beaten Mitchell in a race in Zurich, then Mitchell, his brother and masseuse came to confront Olapade that night. They probably didn't know that Olapade has a black belt in karate. He beat them up).

He also won two silver medals (in the 200m and 4x100m) at the World Junior Championships in Canada in 1988 and another silver at the 1989 World University Games in Germany.

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Olapade Adeniken hands the baton over to Davidson Ezinwa. Beside Davidson is Linford Christie of Great Britain.

Things weren't perfect during the golden era. Olapade Adeniken was a great example that things weren't perfect. Olapade usually beat the biggest US and UK athletes in the big money races in Europe, but these same athletes often beat him at the Olympic Games, World Championships and Commonwealth Games. Why was this so? It wasn't that Olapade was not patriotic, no. He was very patriotic. The problem was that the US and UK athletes had support that the Nigerians didn't have. US and UK athletes were paid training grants. They had sponsorship deals with some of the biggest companies in the world. People like Carl Lewis were members of the famous Santa Monica Sports Club and that served as an extra source of income.

Meanwhile, Nigerian athletes, especially those that had graduated from university, had to run in order to earn money. Therefore the UK and US athletes could pick and choose the races that they ran in, while the Nigerian athletes had to run in more races in order to earn a living. So in many cases, the Nigerian athlete would have burnt out before the Olympics or the World Championships at the end of the season. However, Nigerian athletes accomplished great things despite this hindrance.

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Nigeria wins silver in the 4x100 at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona

Dedicated to Kayode Oluyemi



Gold USA
Michael Marsh
Leroy Burrell
Dennis Mitchell
Carl Lewis
James Jett (Only ran in the heats. Did not run in the final)

Silver Nigeria
Kayode Oluyemi
Chidi Imoh
Olapade Adeniken
Davidson Ezinwa
Osmond Ezinwa (Only ran in the heats. Did not run in the final)

Bronze Cuba
Andres Simon
Joel Lamela
Joel Isasi
Jorge Aguilera

I can remember watching this live. The question that everybody immediately asked was, "What happened to Britain?" Like I said earlier, the sprints were all about the US, Britain and Nigeria, so what happened to Linford Christie, John Regis and Tony Jarrett?

Well, great teamwork happened. The Cubans didn't have any stars, unlike the US, Nigeria and Britain, but they had great teamwork. My dad had mentioned it during the heats, but we all assumed that the final would still be between the US, Nigeria and Britain.

Unfortunately there's no slow motion replay in this video. Dennis Mitchell looked like a madman as he screamed at Carl Lewis, "Go! Go! Go!"

The other talking point was the women's team. You can see Mary Onyali, Christy Opara-Thompson, Faith Idehen and Beatrice Utondu celebrating the men's silver medal performance. The women had won the bronze medal a few minutes earlier. Footage of their celebration when they won bronze and when the men won silver were included in the International Olympic Committee's adverts for many years after.

Kayode Oluyemi would go on to become the Nigerian and African champion in the 200 metres in 1993/1994 before his death in a car crash when he went out to celebrate Nigeria's Independence Day in Arizona on October 1st 1994. Kayode Oluyemi Stadium in Ekiti is named after him.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WukCnQdZqKc

[size=14pt]Mary Onyali[/size]

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Mary Onyali won gold in the 100m, silver in the 200m and bronze in the 4x100m at the World Junior Championships in Athens, Greece in 1986.

She won gold in the 100m at the All Africa Games in 1991, 1995 and 2003 and won bronze at that distance in 1987. She also won gold in the 200m in 1987, 1995 and 2003 and gold in the 4x100m in 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003

She won silver for Africa in both the 100m and 200m at the IAAF World Cup in Barcelona in 1989. She also won gold in the 4x100m, came 3rd in the 100m and 4th in the 200m at the IAAF World Cup in Crystal Palace in 1994. She then came 3rd in the 100m and 4th in the 4x400m at the 1999 IAAF World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Christy Opara-Thompson, Faith Idehen, Mary Tombiri and Mary Onyali win gold for Africa in the 4x100 at the IAAF World Cup. The african women's 4x100 team was often made up of 4 nigerians, while the men's 4x100 team was often made up of 3 nigerians and Frankie "The Flash" Fredericks of Namibia.[/i


She was the Commonwealth champion in 100m and came second in the 200m at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.

She won bronze in the 4x100 at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and another bronze in the 200m at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Mary Onyali took over from Yusuf Ali as the captain of Nigeria's teams to multi-sports competitions like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and All Africa Games.

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[i]Mary Onyali (I remember this expression. She was calm when she crossed the finish line. Then she looked back at the scoreboard, saw the time and went crazy)

Women's 100 metres final at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.

Stars on the track:

Lane 3: Christy Opara-Thompson (Nigeria)
Lane 4: Paula Thomas (Britain)
Lane 5: Mary Onyali (Nigeria)
Lane 6: Mary Tombiri (Nigeria)
Lane 7: Melinda Gainsford (Australia).

Result:

1) Mary Onyali (Nigeria) - gold
2) Christy Opara-Thompson (Nigeria) - silver.
3) Paula Thomas (Britain) - bronze.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bLOUUTX8FU




Women's 4x400m final at the 1987 All Africa Games in Nairobi, Kenya.

Do you remember how we shocked the kenyans in Nairobi in 1987? Nigeria owned the sprints while Kenya and Ethiopia owned the long distance races. Nigeria and Kenya often clashed in the middle, which was the 400 metres. The kenyans thought that they would win on their home ground, but we shocked them. We had three excellent 400 metres runners (Fatima Yusu, Falilat Ogunkoya, Maria Usifo) but who would be the fourth person. The coach had a brilliant idea and I couldn't believe it when I saw it on my tv screen. Mary Onyali ran in the 4x400! And Nigeria blew Kenya away. We also won gold silver and bronze in the women's 100 metres.

"Texas Southern University has become a second home for nigerian athletes".

1987 Texas Southern University video about nigerian athletes. It shows that epic battle as the kenyan athlete chased Mary Onyali down the straight in the 4x400 metres at the 1987 All Africa Games in Nairobi.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHvW56anBNs

200m final at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta

The elegant Marie-Jose Perec did the double (winning the 200m and 400m), the ageless Merlene Ottey came second again and Mary Onyali beat Inger Miller of the US to the bronze medal.

I first saw the ageless Merlene Ottey at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. She was a constant feature at major championships for the next 25 years. The decision of the Jamaican Athletics Federation to include her in the programme for the 2000 Olympics led to protests by younger athletes. Merlene Ottey declared that she won't ever run for Jamaica after the Olympics and she became a Slovenian citizen and competed in the 2004 Olympics and 2012 European Championships for Slovenia.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQkxoMPIusU 

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Marie-Jose Perec of France (gold), Merlene Ottey of Jamaica (silver) and Mary Onyali of Nigeria (bronze).



Now, this is the race! One of the greatest races ever. At par with Ben Johnson vs Carl Lewis (in my opinion).

Nigeria wins bronze in the women's 4x100 metres at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona



Gold USA
Evelyn Ashford
Esther Jones
Carlette Guidry
Gwen Torrence
Michelle Finn (did not run in the final. Only ran in the heats)

Silver Unified Team (I.e the former Soviet Union)
Olga Bogoslovskaya
Galina Malchugina
Marina Trandenkova
Irina Privalova

Bronze Nigeria
Beatrice Utondu
Faith Idehen
Christy Opara-Thompson
Mary Onyali

There are stars EVERYWHERE! Some of my best athletes ever are here.

If you want full power sprinting, look no further than the Nigerian Incredible Hulk of the tracks, Beatrice Utondu. Forget about everybody else in the stadium and (during the first leg) just look at Beatrice go. She was leading at the first change over! Just check out the power with which she ran!

Then there were the first three women to cross the finish line. Gwen Torrence! My second favorite female athlete ever! The Russian track queen Irina Privalova and our own dear Mary Onyali.

The Jamaicans dropped the baton after Juliet Cuthbert had done some great running for them, so we didn't get to see the ever young Merlene Ottey run the last leg.

My eternal crush, Christy Opara-Thomspon was also there. She was one of the most serious Nigerian track stars at the time.

Then there was Evelyn Ashford. She and Ottey were probably the oldest people on that track. She was one of my favorite athletes from LA 1984.

The only person missing in this race was Gail Devers (who, frustratingly for me) had decided to focus on the 110 hurdles. I wanted to see Torrence, Privalova, Ottey, Devers, Onyali and Utondu in the same race.

Watch the battle between Torrence and Privalova at the end.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T9o_PTYoLE

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Mary Onyali, Beatrice Utondu, Christy Opara-Thompson and Faith Idehen.

[size=14pt]Falilat Ogunkoya[/size]

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Falilat Ogunkoya is one of the greatest 400 metres runners in the history of Nigeria. She started out running in the 100 metres and 200 metres in the 1980s (the 200 metres was her speciality).

She won gold in the 200 metres and bronze in the 4x100 metres at the World Junior Championships in Athens, Greece in 1986.

Nigerians also dominated the sprints at the All Africa Games in Nairobi in 1987, with Falilat winning silver in the 100m and 200m (Tina Iheagwam won the 100m and Mary Onyali won the 200m as Nigeria won gold, silver and bronze in both races). She was the African champion in the 200 metres in 1988 and 1998.

She moved up to the 400m in the 1990s and won silver in the 4x400m and bronze in the 400 at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

She also won gold in the 400m (ahead of Grit Breuer and Sandie Richards) and silver in the 200m (behind Marion Jones and ahead of Zhanna Pintusevich) at the 1998 IAAF World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa.

She was the African champion in the 400m in 1989 (African Athletics Championships, Lagos 1989) and 1998.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/61040_474703992789_6595779_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&oh=bbf4f75fca610147e8bbee0813c2c972&oe=5854758A&__gda__=1477520597_daf364de4aa7407daaf7a9c45f1cdc65



Falilat vs Glasses woman.

One of the reasons why we did so well in the relay was because we just kept on producing stars. We had so many stars that we could afford to let some of our biggest stars rest during the heats and we'd still qualify for the finals. This was because we paid attention to school sports in the 1970s-1990s. I bet you, someone will pop up in the media and say that we. Should start preparing for the next Olympics now. They'll say that we've got four years to prepare. They are wrong.

Preparation should be a continuous thing. Sports should be included in the school curriculum, in such a way that the stars that will take part in the Olympics in 8 and even 12 years time should already be getting the needed training and instruction in school today. That was what gave us success in sports in the 1980s and '90s. I've already told you about what Isaac Akioye and others did in athletics, but do you know that it was the same principle that was applied in football? Stephen Keshi and Henry Nwosu played for St Finbarr's, Sunday Oliseh played for Methodist Boys High School, Tarila Okorowanta played for St Gregory's College and Jonathan Akpoborie played for Igbobi College in the Principals Cup.

[size=14pt]4x400m relay final at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta[/size]

The best women's 400 metres runners in the world at this time were the elegant Marie Jose Perec of France, Cathy Freeman of Australia and Falilat Ogunkoya of Nigeria. They were the best in the world throughout the mid-1990s.

Just below them were Glasseswoman of the USA (I started calling her Glasseswoman in 1992). Glasseswoman was the former world champion and she was the best in the 400 metres in the early 1990s, but she had started fading by 1996. Fatima Yusuf of Nigeria was the Nigerian, African and commonwealth champion in the 400 metres in the late 1980s and early '90s, but she had also started fading by this time. However, she ran the race of her life in this race. She showed us that she could still do what she used to do. Charity Opara of Nigeria never really got to the top rung in the 400, but she was just below it. Grit Breuer had been affected by all the controversy surrounding the German doping scandal and she was just getting back to her best (she trained with the Nigerians).

Cathy Freeman and Marie Jose Perec were the best in the world, but their countries couldn't qualify for the final because they didn't have depth. Nigeria had three superstars and one star in this race. The Jamaicans had to draft in runners from other disciplines in order to present a strong team.

Bisi Afolabi (the new kid on the block) was in second at the change over. Fatima Yusuf reminded us that she's still Fatima Yusuf by powering into first position (with her long legs) and opening a huge gap. Then Charity Opara took over and maintained the lead. But she got tired at the end and the American overtook her and opened up a gap just before the baton change. Then it was Fali vs Glasseswoman (Jearl Miles). Falilat chased and almost caught up with Glasseswoman. Glasseswoman ran the race of her life to prevent Fali from overtaking her.

Gold: United States

Rochelle Stevens
Maicel Malone-Wallace
Kim Graham
Jearl Miles
Linetta Wilson (did not run in the final. Only ran in the heat).

Silver: Nigeria
Olabisi Afolabi
Fatima Yusuf
Charity Opara
Falilat Ogunkoya


Bronze: Germany
Uta Rohländer
Linda Kisabaka
Anja Rücker
Grit Breuer




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VcOkBouHr0

https://scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/59752_474703452789_2610380_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&oh=3b74f46440c9075e455d5f6dd5225cb7&oe=5843E445
Grit Breuer, Falilat Ogunkoya & Charity Opara

Absolute legends

Marie Jose-Perec, Cathy Freeman and Falilat Ogunkoya.

Just think about how hard it is for us to get anyone into the finals at Rio, then consider the fact that we had two superstars in this race.

400 metres final at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta

Jearl Miles-Mills, Fatima Yusuf and Sandie Richards are in this race, but it was all about

Gold: Marie Jose-Perec (France)
Silver: Cathy Freeman (Australia)
Bronze: Falilat Ogunkoya (Nigeria)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpG6GIsUy4I


https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/62370_474702837789_7743447_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&oh=d02f79c580834c398242169a1c6c510f&oe=5854F3E7&__gda__=1481511096_e689b60391f952060438ea5a463e670c
Falilat Ogunkoya, Marie-Jose Perec & Cathy Freeman

[size=14pt]Sunday Bada[/size]

https://scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/62490_474705462789_2059635_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&oh=87ee0d12144b553639b51dce83578282&oe=585DEC29

Sunday Bada was an olympic champion, a world indoor champion, a world cup champion and the african and nigerian champion. He is probably the best 400 metres runner to come out of Nigeria (and that's saying something because we've produced great 400 metres champions like Innocent Egbunike, Enefiok Udo-Obong and Sunday Uti).

Sunday Bada won silver in the 400 metres in the 1993 (Toronto) and 1995 (Barcelona) indoor world championships. He then won gold at the 1997 indoor world championships in Barcelona, thus becoming the indoor world champion. He is the current african indoor record holder in the 400 metres.

He also won gold for Africa in the 1992 athletics world cup in cuba (the world cup is usually contested by continents).


Sunday Bada won the 400 metres at the Mobil Athletics Championships in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2001, thus becoming the nigerian champion in those years. He also won bronze in the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden and another bronze medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.

Sunday Bada was also a policeman and he rose to the rank of superintendent of police. He was the commander of the joint border patrol force that was set up to patrol the Nigeria-Benin border to prevent armed robbers and car smugglers from crossing into Nigeria. He died in 2011.

Sunday Bada was also an olympic champion in the 4x400 metres. Nigeria hovered between 3rd and 4th throughout the race, then Enofiok Udo-Obong ran a fantastic last leg to get Nigeria into second position behind the United States. The United States were eventually stripped of their gold medal when Antonio Pettigrew confessed in court that he had used banned drugs prior to and during the olympics. Nigeria thus became the winners of the race.

4x400 metres race at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Gold: Nigeria 
Clement Chukwu
Jude Monye
Sunday Bada
Enefiok Udo-Obong
Nduka Awazie (did not run in the final. Only ran in the heats).
Fidelis Gadzama (did not run in the final. Only ran in the heats).


Silver: Jamaica
Christopher Williams
Michael Blackwood
Gregory Haughton
Danny McFarlane
Sanjay Ayre (did not run in the final. Only ran in the heats).
Michael McDonald (did not run in the final. Only ran in the heats).


Bronze: Bahamas
Avard Moncur
Troy McIntosh
Carl Oliver
Chris Brown
Timothy Munnings (did not run in the final. Only ran in the heats).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ynGAzlYZfo

[size=14pt]Davidson and Osmond Ezinwa[/size]

https://fb-s-d-a.akamaihd.net/h-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/14117955_1775037702753529_5569446819799776595_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&oh=84befbb7e414f22efd8f3fcfa7592ce5&oe=584DAB67&__gda__=1482078518_19701ea35d9f58d6ec26f37e3d999d85
Davidson and Osmond Ezinwa at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand

Do you remember the unstoppable twins? The perennial Nigerian and African champions called Davidson and Osmond Ezinwa? They were always, I repeat, always in the 100 and 200 metres finals at the Olympics. Davidson won silver in the 100 metres at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand in 1990, silver in the 4x100 at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, silver at the World Championships in Athens in 1997 and another silver at the World Indoor Championships in 1997. He won gold, silver and bronze at the World Junior Championships in Poland in 1990 and another gold at the All Africa Games in 1995. He had the world junior record in the 100 metres for more than ten years and he was the African record holder multiple times. Do we have anybody like him now? No.

https://scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/424620_10151205613822790_1203630113_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&oh=661e1de1ab6f11ca17ed2d63e1118584&oe=584842DC
Davidson Ezinwa


https://scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/293051_10151205698497790_969404369_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&oh=e5f466233c0bb7d20c4a4ac18f27286e&oe=5850190D
Osmond Ezinwa

[size=14pt]Chidi Imoh[/size]

https://scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/488280_10151205227847790_906965911_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&oh=b7a33de211929bdd7ae7acfe842481bb&oe=5845FD98
Chidi Imoh setting a new African record in the 100m @ the Berlin Grand Prix in 1986.

Do you remember when Nigeria won silver in the 100 metres in a superstar field at the 1986 Goodwill Games? Ben Johnson (Canada) won Gold, Chidi Imoh won silver and Carl Lewis (USA) won bronze. Chidi Imoh was a two time African champion in the 100 meters by that time (gold in Rabat in 1984 and Cairo in 1985) and he would go on to win silver again in the 4x100 at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He ran the fastest time in the world in the 100 metres in 1986 and of course, he won the 100 metres at the All Africa Games in Nairobi in. 1987. Chidi Imoh also won gold in the 100 metres at the World University Games in Edmonton, Canada in 1983 and at Kobe, Japan in 1985. Do we have anybody like him at the moment? No.

Video: 100 metres final at the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow.

1) Ben Johnson (CAN) 9.95 (gold)
2) Chidi Imoh (NGR) 10.04 (silver)
3) Carl Lewis (USA) 10.06 (bronze)
4) Lee McRae (USA) 10.12
5) Vladimir Muravyev (URS) 10.20
6) Andrei Shlyapnikov (URS) 10.21
7) Michael Morris (USA) 10.21
8 ) Harvey Glance (USA) 10.24


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1j0tOfJSoE

[size=14pt]The Golden Age Of Nigerian Athletics (1984-2000)[/size]

https://scontent-amt2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/59752_474703452789_2610380_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoiYiJ9&oh=3b74f46440c9075e455d5f6dd5225cb7&oe=5843E445
Grit Breuer, Falilat Ogunkoya & Charity Opara

I felt incredibly sad while watching the Rio Olympics. In fact, I was overwhelmed by sadness.

It was almost impossible for Nigeria to get anyone into the finals of the track and field events. In fact, we only got to the final of the women's 4x100 and we came last. Our only hope of a medal was the football team. We have seriously regressed.

Back in the day there were several Nigerian track and field stars doing great things in Europe and it was quite normal to check the papers, listen to BBC Fastrack or watch the sports shows on Saturdays to find out about the exploits of Nigerian track and field athletes in Europe. This was long before Nigerian footballers started doing great things in Europe. Nigerians were strong competitors in the golden league, the IAAF Grand Prix and at the World Cup, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and even at the Olympics. Now who do we have apart from Blessing Okagbare? Nobody. Then we had multiple stars competing in each event. The sprints were all about the USA, Britain and Nigeria. Once in a while you had the occasional Canadian (Johnson, Baily), Russian (Privalova), German (Krabbe, Breuer) or Jamaican (the ageless Merlene Ottey) thrown in, but the sprints were all about the USA, Britain and Nigeria. That was the golden era of Nigerian athletics (1984-2000). Now the Jamaicans have taken our place.

The foundation for the golden era was laid when Isaac Akioye was made the head of the PHE Department at the University of Ife (indeed, he started the PHE department at Ife). Akioye was a former track and field athlete and footballer. He played for the Nigerian national football team (the Red Devils) when they toured the UK in 1949. He had also attended university in the US and he wanted to establish the US system (in which the best athletes came from university and secondary school teams) in Nigeria. He befriended and invited double olympic gold medalist, Lee Evans to lecture at Ife and train the students. Lee Evans had won gold in the 400 metres and 400x400 metres at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, setting a new 400 metres world record in the process (his world record was broken by Michael Johnson 28 years later, at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta).

Akioye was eventually appointed as the Director General of the National Sports Commission in 1973 (he organised the first national sports festival). He left Lee Evans in Ife, to continue producing excellent coaches and athletes and sent Ron Davis (another American coach and former athlete) to the University of Benin to produce athletes and coaches there. He brought George Idibia (the foremost Nigerian coach) to Lagos to run a similar programme there. They produced excellent athletes and coaches and ensured that the athletes got scholarships at American universities. Lee Evans and Ron Davis attended universities in the southern part of the US and most Nigerian athletes were given scholarships at universities there (especially in Texas). This arrangement continued even when the four gentlemen left the National Sports Commission in 1979 (Lee Evans came back to Nigeria multiple times). That was at the national level.

At the grassroots level, we had Tobias Igwe (aka Toblow). He was a national team athlete and he took up coaching after retirement in 1978. He attended every secondary school inter-house sports competition in Lagos and discovered some of Nigeria's biggest stars while they were still in secondary school. He discovered people like Mary Onyali, Sunday Uti, Airat Bakare, Henry Amike, etc and brought them to the national team. Many of these stars eventually got scholarships to US universities. Apart from the federal government scholarships and the efforts of people like Lee Evans, US universities had discovered that Nigeria had excellent athletes, so they also sent scouts to Nigeria to discover talents. Most of the athletes that were found were Tobias Igwe's products. He moved to Anambra in the late 1980s and continued discovering talents like the Ezinwa twins.

Then we had three fantastic gentlemen in Bendel State. Brown Ebewele, Tony Urhobo and Solomon Ogba started out working for the same boss - the Bendel State Government and ended up being great rivals while working for rival bosses. Brown Ebewele became the chief athletics coach in Delta State and then switched to Edo State, while Tony Urhobo became the chief athletics coach in Delta State. These two friends began a massive competition that benefitted Nigeria immensely. Delta State did not want to be beaten by Edo State and Edo State also did not want to be beaten by Delta State. Both sides went scouting for great talents and spent a lot of money to ensure that their rival did not beat them at the national sports festival, Mobil Athletics Championships, etc. These gentlemen went on to head their states' athletics federations, became commissioners of sports and headed the Athletics Federation of Nigeria. The rivalry continued while they were in these positions.

And there were many other great administrators and coaches. People like Engineer Yomi Adeyemi-Wilson (father of the child tv star, Yomi Adeyemi-Wilson). He had been a track star in the 1960s before going to work for Mobil Oil. He convinced Mobil to sponsor the Nigerian Athletics Championships, which became the Mobil Athletics Championships. It was the biggest athletics competition in Nigeria and it was often used to select athletes for Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, etc.

There was Rotimi Obajimi and his wife Gloria Obajimi in Lagos. They were excellent athletes and became excellent coaches and technical officials when they retired. Rotimi Obajimi is currently a member of the IAAF technical committee. There was Professor Andrew Ajidua at Unilag and the NIS, Abdulkarim Amu and many others. We had great coaches and officials like:

Rotimi Obajimi
Emilia Edet
Gloria Obajimi
Alex onyewenwa
Brown Ebewele
Solomon Ogba
Tony Urhobo
Professor Andrew Ajidua
Abdulkarim Amu
Lee Evans
Ron Davis
Isaac Akioye
George Idibia
Violet Odogwu-Nwajei (former track star, she's also Chief Sonny Odogwu's sister)
Modupe Oshikoya (another former track star)

We also had great track and field stars like:

Olapade Adeniken
Innocent Egbunike
Henry Amike
Sunday Uti
Maria Usifo
Davidson Ezinwa
Osmond Ezinwa
Mary Onyali
Falilat Ogunkoya
Chidi Imoh
Daniel Philips Effiong
Kayode Oluyemi
Sunday Bada
Fatima Yusuf
Tina Iheagwam
Beatrice Utondu
Christy Opara-Thompson
Charity Opara
Chioma Ajunwa
Adewale Olukoju
Yusuf Ali
Faith Idehen
Tony Osheku
Victor Omagbemi
Mary Tombiri
Rufina Uba
Francis Obikwelu
Glory Alozie
Bisi Afolabi
Omolade Akinremi
Omotayo Akinremi
Uchenna Emedolu
Deji Aliu
Seun Ogunkoya
Jude Monye
Clement Chukwu
Angela Atede
Airat Bakare
Chima Ugwu
Vivian Chukwuemeka

Do you remember when Nigeria won the 1987 All African Games with great contributions from our track and field athletes? Do you remember when we came fourth on the overall medals table at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, thanks partly to our performance in track and field athletics?

ONWARDBABA:
Allready here

I'm here to give you advance warning. It's that time of the year again and you won't escape this time. You must celebrate your birthday. You've got no choice in the matter. There are people who are waiting to kidnap you before the end of the week if you don't celebrate your birthday.

You've been warned!

Entrying??

.

Video: NFF Atlanta Issue Was A Hoax, Dalung Alleges.
Says that NFF took 35 officials to Rio. Alleges that Delta provided the charter flight for free, while NFF sent a bill for the flight to the sports ministry.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqKbwPUKxs0

[size=14pt]U23 Trip To Brazil: Nff Lied Over Payment Of $300,000 To Delta Airline – Dalung[/size]

— Aug 19, 2016 8:39 pm | Leave a comment

Minister of youth and sports development, Mr Solomon Dalung, on Friday said the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) lied over the claim of chartering a Delta Airline jet to convey the Dream Team VI to Brazil from Atlanta.

The team arrived Brazil a few hours to their first game in the competition as a result of logistical challenges.

But speaking in an interview with Channels TV, Dalung described the “theory of the Dream Team being stranded” as a hoax.

The minister said the federation lied to have paid Delta Airline to fly the U-23 team, whereas the airline did not collect a dime.

According to him, the theory of the chartered flight was another attempt to rip the country off‎. All these are unsubstantiated allegations.

He said,  “As I stand today, we have a receipt from an agent that NFF claimed to have chartered a flight from Atlanta to Manaus on the 4th of August.

“Yet, we had Delta airline which I have confirmed through the person I sent to Delta office that the flight from Atlanta to Manaus was their contribution to help the team get to Brazil.

“That they also air lifted them from Nigeria to Atlanta.

“It means that there was this existing partnership between Nigeria Football Federation and Delta Airline.”

But Ademola Olajire, NFF spokesman, seem not to be on the same page with the minster.

“Is Delta Airline NFF partner?” he asked in response to inquiry by TheCable.

The federation later issued a statement to deny any partnership with the airline.

“The NFF board and management are taken aback by these insinuations,” read the statement signed by Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande, chairman of NFF media and publicity.

“The NFF president has been telling us of meeting between him and the minister on how to avoid the kind of situation we got into in the USA in the future.

“So, the minister’s latest statements are a bombshell.

“We are not openly challenging the minister, but we must set the records straight.

“To start, we do not have any partnership with Delta Airlines, a company that we owe much gratitude for the way it came to the rescue to airlift our team to Brazil.

“The names of NFF’s partners and sponsors are known to the public.”

The statement also debunked the claim of Dalung that it presented a receipt on the cost of the flight.

“The NFF is not aware of any receipt that was presented to the minister for airlifting the U23 team from Atlanta to Manaus,” the statement read.

“I am aware that the minister himself requested for the phone number of our FIFA Match Agent (Mr. Jairo Pachon, who has been working with the NFF since 2009) when everybody became desperate about how the team would go to Brazil.

“The NFF president gave him the phone number, and the minister himself asked Mr. Pachon to go ahead and charter an aircraft, and Pachon reverted that the amount would be $174,000, as against the $300,000 that was bandied earlier.

“However, the money did not reflect in the airline company’s bank account within the deadline it gave to us, so the service was cancelled.

“We insist that Mr. Pachon acted in the best interest of Nigeria.”

http://leadership.ng/sports/546837/u23-trip-to-brazil-nff-lied-over-payment-of-300000-to-delta-airline-dalung?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter