Tokyo Olympics: Okowa charges track and field athletes to rewrite record

<p>President, Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobock Okowa, has charged the track and field team to the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics which gets underway today to rewrite a record at the Games.</p>, <p>Nigeria’s track and field team has failed to win a medal in the last two Olympics and Okowa believes the story would be different in Tokyo.</p>, <p>“I am confident our athletes will rewrite their record of participation at the event. The AFN has provided the enabling environment for the athletes and I am sure they will live up to our expectations,” said Okowa.</p>, <p>Okowa hinges his optimism on the pre-Games form of the athletes and the huge support received from both the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).</p>, <p>ALSO READ: Osaka lights Olympic flame as Tokyo 2020 Games begin</p>, <p>‘’Ese Brume has proved her status as one of the best horizontal jumpers in the world. Her African record setting 7.17m leap at the end of May is the farthest any long jumper has landed so far this year,” he said.</p>, <p>Okowa believes sprint hurdler Tobi Amusan, sprinters Blessing Okagbare and Divine Oduduru and hammer thrower Annette Echikunwoke are world-class athletes ranked among the top 10 in their events.</p>, <p>‘’Enoch Adegoke and Grace Nwokocha are dark horses waiting to spring surprises. Our 4x100m relay team is the best we have ever aasembled in terms of individual performances and should make it a hat-trick of Olympic medals in Tokyo,” he said.</p>, <p>He lauded the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Chief Sunday Dare, for his efforts in getting Team Nigeria ready.</p>, <p>ALSO READ: Osaka lights Olympic flame as Tokyo 2020 Games begin</p>, <p>‘’The Minister’s adopt-an- athlete initiative has proved a game changer. For the first time in over two decades we have athletes who live here, train here and compete here achieve unprecedented feats. Adegoke ran 10.00 seconds to win the 100m at the Olympic trials at Yabatech last month. It is the fastest legal t