Fasuba targets Commonwealth gold
By Nnamdi Okosieme
August 5, 2010 02:55AM
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Nigerian sprinter, Olusoji Fasuba, has one burning desire and that is to beat other contestants to the gold medal at this year’s Commonwealth Games taking place in Delhi, India.
Fasuba, who is Africa’s fastest man courtesy of the 9.85 seconds record he set in Doha Qatar in 2006, says he wants to bounce back in sensational style after being slowed down by injury in the last two years.
“I want to get to the very top and the starting point is this year’s Commonwealth Games. My aim is to win gold in the 100 metres event. I don’t care who will be competing and I am not afraid of anybody,” said the sprinter who holds the third fastest time by an African runner in the 60 metres with 6.49 seconds behind Ghanaian Leonard Myles-Mills and compatriot, Deji Aliu.
“I want the Commonwealth gold badly. I know I can do it. I want to prove to my fans and even to doubters out there that I’m still the same Fasuba. It is a goal that is realisable; I have been training hard and I don’t plan on letting up,” said the sprinter who won gold in 60 metres at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain in 2008.
Serious preparation
Fasuba, a bronze medallist in 4x100metres at the Athens 2004 Olympics, called on Nigeria’s athletics governing body, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to step up preparation for the games.
He said Nigeria had the manpower, as is made evident by the performance of its athletes at the just concluded World Youth Championship in Canada and the African Athletics Championships in Kenya, to sweep the stakes at the Games.
“We can do it. We have the people that can do it. What is required is for the federation to begin serious preparation and see whether the athletes will not deliver,” he said.
Meanwhile, Solomon Ogba, the President of the AFN has called on Nigeria’s elite athletes to make the difference at the Games. Ogba said the AFN is committed to ensuring that everything needed by the athletes to excel at the event would be put in place.
“We are taking steps to ensure successful outing at the Games but that may not happen if our top athletes don’t approach the whole issue with the seriousness it deserves,” Ogba said.
[b]Reader Comments /b
Posted by A. Olukoju on Aug 05 2010
I wish you all the best but, we all have to be realistic once in a while. Maybe Bolt, Powell, Blake, Chambers, Bailey, Bledman, Thompson, Mullings and Effah will not be taking part in the Championship.
Posted by uyi edo on Aug 05 2010
@ Olukoju, Bolt is not taking part, so he has only Powell to beat, the others he can match on his good day, as usual Powell cant hold it together in very big games giving Fasuba an edge
Posted by A. Olukoju on Aug 05 2010
I hope you are right. The key word is “On his good day”. Fasuba has not competed this year probably because he is not 100 percent. It is very difficult to get in a copetitive shape and the toughest competition at the Commonwealth games will be in the men and women sprints.
Posted by chika on Aug 05 2010
I read on the New yesterday that fasuba had retired from Nigerian track and field team. So, what is this news about? However, Fasuba did not take part in this years Mobil track and field Championship, where the potential runners were selected for the CWG in India. Fasuba is not ranked this year and has not competed at all. I think this reporters are feeding people with irrelevant news, because Fasuba has called it quit. I believe that in the future, he might consider running again, but for now, he is injured and not training. I believe that if he is traing and in good shape, no one can staop him from getting a medal from CWG…Gold am not sure, because even if Asafa, Bolt will not be there, There are about 4 athletes who have return 9 seconds this year including Dwain Chambers of GB who has ran 9.98, one from Trinidad and Tobago, Two other Jamaicans Michael Frater and Yohan Blake, who have ran 9.95 in the 100m and 19.77 in the 200m this year. So is gonna be tough. For Nigerian men sprinters, i would advice they focus on the relays and forget about the individual medal, cus is never gonna happen. I know they always say that anything can happen in track, but nothing will happen if you did not adequately prepare like the rest of the athlete did. For Our Nigerian female runners, they have a huge chance, because 4 top Jamaican sprinters are not coming to CWG. Damola, Okagbare, Seun Adigun, Ajoke Odumosu, the other two female triple Jumpers…All these are medal hopeful. Good luck AFN.
Posted by A. Olukoju on Aug 06 2010
You are right Chika. I think our best chances for individual medals in track and field will be from Okagbare and Odumosu. They are the only ones who have been running better world class times.
Posted by Lakayana on Aug 06 2010
Why is an athlete of Fasuba calibre waiting on the AFN to get ready for a major championship? Maybe he might want to take a lesson from some of the great sprinters that came before him. Not Godwin Obasogie, Chidi Imoh, Olapade Adenikan, Davidson Ezenwa or Francis Obikwelu waited for on the AFN to get ready for a competition. These guys only asked that AFN not get in thier way.
Posted by Dr. Rashid Balogun on Aug 06 2010
@Uyi, Unfortunately, I think this article may have been written before the trials in which Fasuba was a no-show. Nevertheless, he will not line-up for Nigeria either due to lack of fitness or simply did not make the team. Anyone that try to remove a qualifier will be looking for problems because Fasuba and AFN knew the rule and I don’t think this young guy misfortune can disburbed others. Realistically he will be lucky to make it to semi-final and the boys been fielded will likely suffer the same fate anyway.