As Team Nigeria moves its Track and Field team into the Olympics Village, Blessing Okagbare’s experience and bright performances in previous games will help encourage new bees at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games.
In a statement by Dare Esan, the Media Officer to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Team Nigeria’s competition will kick off from July 30.
Okagbare, alongside 11 other athletes: Oluwatobi Amusan, Ese Brume, Divine Oduduru, Grace Nwokocha, Chukwuebuka Enewechi, Enoch Adegoke, Usheoritse Itshekiri, Patience Okon-George, Imaobong Uko and Emmanuel Ojeli, will be competing at the 2020 Games.
Favour Ofili and Ruth Usoro, both US-based collegiate athletes, who came into the Nigerian Olympics radar late in the qualifiers, have completed two of the three mandatory out of competition tests required and are awaiting final clearance.
Dare said: “Ten Nigerian athletes, most of whom are alternates who have not fulfilled the three mandatory OCT tests required, are in the process of taking their tests.
“They must take the final tests one day before competition.
“The process to get them tested has since been activated by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria.”
The athletics team had moved into the Olympic Village from their training camp in Kizarazu and would be in action from day one of competition with Okagbare leading Grace Nwokocha in the women’s 100m heats.
The mixed relay team will also be in action as the team strives to return to the podium 13 years after it last did at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad held in Beijing, China in 2008.
Okagbare will be competing in the event for the third time since she made it to the final at the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London in 2012.
Nwokocha, the fastest home-based athlete since Mercy Nku ran 11.04 seconds in 1997 in Benin, Edo State, will be making her debut in the event at the biggest sporting fiesta on earth.
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