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Two of Nigeria's best sprinters in Enoch Adegoke and Divine Oduduru are set to return to track action at the National Sports Festival in Asaba.
The 21st edition of the National Sports Festival (NSF) is rated to be highly competitive, as the best home-based and invited foreign-based athletes are set to converge in Asaba, Delta State from November 30 - December 10, 2022.
About 10,000 athletes across all states will be expected to participate in the festival, which is about 2,000 more than the number that participated in the 20th edition in Edo State.
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Like every other significant sporting game around the world, Athletics is always a major sport to look forward to, and this time two of Nigeria’s fastest runners will be returning after being absent from major athletics competitions for over a year.
Top on the list is Enoch Adegoke, the defending NSF 100m Champion, who will be gunning to become the first athlete to retain his NSF 100m title in the last decade and a half.
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Adegoke was first a Bronze medallist at the 19th edition in 2018, and three years after, he won the title at the 20th edition in Edo State, defeating Alaba Akintola and Jerry Jakpa by the narrowest of margins in 10.28s to 10.29s.
Four months later, at the Tokyo Olympic Games, he sped his name into the history books by becoming the first Nigerian athlete in twenty-five years to qualify and compete in the 100m Olympic final, though he didn’t finish the race after sustaining a hamstring injury mid-race.
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Since then, the 22-year-old has been plagued with injuries that kept him off track, especially missing out on the World Championships in Oregon, and Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Now that his injury problems are behind him, Adegoke will hope to have an impressive comeback by reclaiming his spot as the best 100m runner in the country.
However, he will have tough competitors in Jerry Jakpa (Bronze medallist at the last edition in Edo State), Nikolas Fakorede (rising sprints sensation), among others.
Meanwhile, Divine Oduduru has opted to compete in the 200m and relays. The National Record (NR) holder in the 200m, is also seeking a return to the spotlight since the Tokyo Olympics.
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Just like Adegoke, has been disturbed with injuries and has not competed since his 200m semi-final race in Tokyo, where he placed third clocking 20.16s.
The former Nigerian Champion has vowed that his comeback will be a historic one, which already signifies mouthwatering comebacks to anticipate between both athletes in their events in Asaba.
More events expected to be a showpiece at the festival
The men’s 400m is one major event to watch out for, having three of the biggest names in the country going head to head against each other. They are Samson Nathaniel, Ifeanyi Ojeli, and Sikiru Adeyemi, with one of them being the favourite for the title, though Johnson Nnamani can cause a major upset .
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Patience George is anticipated to make another appearance in the women’s 400m as the preferred choice to defend her title, although Queen Usunbodun may pose a threat to her ambitions.
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In the field events, some big names are expected to fly into the country representing Delta State.
NR holder in the men’s Shot Put, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, Commonwealth Discus Champion, Chioma Onyekwere, African Champion in the women’s Hammer Throw, Sade Olatoye are among these big names.
Athletics is scheduled to begin on Sunday, Dec 4, 2022, and not Saturday, December 3, as earlier stated.
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