THE Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has expressed displeasure with the remark made by the former president of the body, Mr Dan Ngerem which berated the performance of Team Nigeria at the just-ended 14th IAAF world athletics championships, Moscow 2013.
Nigeria who paraded 20 athletes in Moscow came back with one silver and one bronze medals won by Blessing Okagbare in long jump and 200metres sprint respectively and this Ngerem described as a failure after all.
The feat was celebrated by a number of Nigerians as the nation last won medals in the world athletics championships at Seville '99 during the era of Engineer Oluyomi Adeyemi-Wilson.
AFN in a statement however, by its head of Communication and Media, Olukayode Thomas said
Ngerem has no moral justification to condemn Team Nigeria.
"It is shocking that Mr Ngerem who led AFN to the Paris 2003 World Championships where the only thing we won was crisis as some of our athletes refused to run because of disagreement over bonus and allowances, and two years later he led us to the Helsinki 2005 IAAF World Championship which is to date the worst outing in the 30-year IAAF World Championship history, could condemn a team that won medals," Thomas said.
He noted that it was unfortunate that Ngerem said the medals won by the Delta State-born athlete were by sheer luck.
“It is shocking that someone who was the president of AFN just about a decade ago could make such a statement. If Ngerem is still following the sport, he would have realised that a week to the World Championships, Okagbare was not only number 10 overall in the women’s rankings for all events but also ranked number three in the world in the 100m, 200m and long jump. As of this year, Okagbare is and still remains the most consistent jumper in the world," the AFN board member said.
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