• Kanyisola Ajayi, Israel Okon in 100m s’finals *Enekwechi, Brume no medal

Duro Ikhazuagbe

While   other countries kicked off their World Athletics Championship in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday with medals rush, Nigeria, as usual, opted to go the familiar route of controversy.

And it was no other but the country’s biggest athlete, Tobi Amusan, who posted on social media the manner of kits Team Nigeria athletes were given to compete at the biggest stage of track & field: The Worlds.

In a live video that was later taken down on Instagram, the world record holder in women’s 100m hurdles, queried the quality and quantity of kits given to the Nigerian athletes in Japan.

In her words: “Other countries have a suitcase of supplies and we (Nigeria), it’s just a tiny plastic bag of clothing. It is the same, year in, year out,” observed Amusan as she tossed the small plastic bag containing some low quality competition kits about in the video.

She further complained that there were no sweat shirts and other clothings to be worn out of competition as it is the usual practice by athletes from countries sponsored by big time sportswear companies like NIKE, PUMA, ADIDAS etc.

Although THISDAY later learnt that a top officials with the National Sports Commission (NSC) hurriedly arranged the kit partnership with a brand called Hiracer for the country’s athletes to the World Championship in Tokyo, the quantity of the supplies given to the Nigerian athletes was far below what the athletes usually enjoy from previous kit sponsor like NIKE.

“It was more of an assistance than a kit deal with Hiracer. Instead of the AFN going to the open market to buy kits for the athletes going to Tokyo for the World Championship, the official reached out to his contacts who got this Hiracer kits for Nigeria,” revealed a top source in Nigerian sports.

He also revealed that there is a performance bonus attached to the partnership which will see Team Nigeria athletes pick up $30,000, $20,000 and $10,000 for gold, silver and bronze medals won in Tokyo.

No official of the AFN could be reached to speak on the post by Amusan before it was taken down from the social medial later yesterday.

However, despite the row over kits, the duo of Kanyisola Ajayi and Israel Okon cruised into the semifinals of the men’s 100m to be decided this evening.

Ajayi, 21, clocked a new PB of 9.88secs to finish second in his heat behind Gift Leotlela of South Africa. Leotlela also shattered his personal best to 9.87s, but ahead of Oblique Sevile of Jamaica who managed a 9.93s after a poor start.

That 9.88 makes Ajayi the third-fastest Nigerian sprinter of all-time behind Olusoji Fasuba (9.85s) and Divine Oduduru (9.86s). It is also the fifth time that he has ran a sub-10 in a single outdoor season!

Okon on the other hand clocked 10.04secs to beat Britain’s Zharnel Hughes to second spot with his 10.06 while Tokyo Olympics 100m champion, Marcell Jacobs (10.20) was third.

The Men’s 100m semi final field will be a blockbuster of fireworks with Ajayi lining up against Noah Lyles, Akani Simbine, Ackeem Blake, and Jacobs in Semi 1, while Okon faces Oblique Seville, Letsile Tebogo, Leotlela, Courtney Lindsey, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, Romell Glave, and Andre De Grasse in Semi 3.

The opening day of the Worlds in Tokyo was not all about the sprint alone as Nigeria’s Shot Put record-holder, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, also impressed, advancing to the finals after throwing 20.83m in qualification. 

Enekwechi however missed the podium in the final as he finished fifth overall with his best effort of 21.52m in the sixth throw.

Day 2 of the Worlds will hold today with much promise for Team Nigeria athletes.

In the women’s long jump, Nigeria and Commonwealth Games champion, Ese Brume failed to re-enacts her form of a bronze in Doha and silver in Eugene editions.

Brume and Nigeria’s other entrant in the women’s long jump, Prestina Ochonogor exit the Championship without a medal.

Both long jumpers failed in their bid to reach the final of the women’s event at the Worlds with Ochonogor the first to crumble with a poor leap of 6.05m. Brume, one of the most decorated female jumpers on the continent could only manage 6.46m as her best outing in Tokyo

The post Team Nigeria Opens World Championship in Tokyo with Kits Controversy appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.