I will use my position as IAAF-licensed manager to promote race-walk – Nesiama

Omatseye Nesiama, an International Association of Athletics Federations-licensed manager said on Tuesday that he would use his position to improve the standard of lesser events in athletics.
Nesiama made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, after attending the IAAF/Trinidad Alfonso World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia, Spain.
During his tenure as Technical Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, he promoted events like race-walk, where the likes of Fadekemi Olude and Faustina Oguh were discovered and nurtured.
The retired Navy Commodore said that Olude and some other athletes would be promoted to attend events in the world circuit, to give them more exposure.
He said: “I will use my position as an IAAF-licensed manager to help promote her and her likes, into the world circuit.
“I attended the World Half Marathon in Valencia, which held on March 24 to strengthen my contacts for such planned purposes.’’
NAN reports that Olude is among the athletes selected to represent Nigeria at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games scheduled for Gold Coast, Australia in April.
Commenting on his experience at the half marathon, he said: “It was good seeing the excitement it generated among the populace”.
He added: “In terms of organisation, I see that we could still spend less in organising world class events if we properly compartmentalise spending, to ensure money is spent in the right places.”
NAN reports that Nesiama got certified after excelling in the IAAF Level 2 Technical Officials Education and Certification System examinations on September 17, 2017.
He now heads the technical officiating body in Africa, and would be at the helm until 2021.
The IAAF, the international governing body for the sport of athletics, was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in July 1912.