Olawale Ajimotokan
17 July 2009
Lagos — A foundation owned by former Olympic medalist Falilat Ogunkoya- Omotayo is collaborating with some American schools to offer scholarship to Nigerian school leavers in the United States. The project code named: Athletics Talent Hunt will be conducted in four centres across the country.
The centres are Kaduna, Enugu, Ibadan and Calabar. The first regional selection is billed for the first week of September in Kaduna.
Specialties where the prospects will feature are 100m, 200m and 400m.
Best four finishers in each category at the zonal level will assemble for the national final in Lagos in the second week of October where the best eight athletes will be offered scholaship to study and combine athletics in the United States.The successful athletes will proceed to the US in January next year.
Ogunkoya, who is the first Nigerian to win an individual Olympic medal in athletics said yesterday she was driven by the search and groom gesture so as to get talents to the level where they will be trainable.She said that more talents will be groomed for colleagiate scholarship in the future selections.
Eligibility for the programme is credit in five ordinary level subjects. The prospects should also not be older than 23 years and are expected to pick registration forms at the cost of N2,500.
Some of the US uinversities that are participating in the programme include Mississippi State University, University of Texas, El-Paso, Ohio State University, University of Texas, El-Paso, Ohio State University, Oklahoma State Univeristy and North Carolina State University.
And ahead of the zonal selection, an athletics instructor, Dr David Boles from Mississippi State Univeristy is expected in Lagos on July 28.
The American collegiate system is not strange to Nigerians considering that the same system produced in the past individuals including Chidi Imoh, Innocent Egbunike, Mary Onyali, Sunday Utti, Yusuf Alli and Ogunkoya among others who hugged the headlines by featuring for Nigeria at the Olympics as well as at the European meets.
Bearing that sterling tradition in mind, Ogunkoya told reporters yesterday that American universities will always be willing to offer Nigerians scholarship and opportunities to compete at the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Conference because of their work ethics.
She said that the grooming process is restricted to the sprints and quarter miles because the American system makes it possible for athletes to excel in other specialities other than the ones they are familiar with.
" Our strenght in Nigeria is the sprint, but if you can do the 100m, you can as well convert to 110 m hurdles and Long Jump.In Conference events you can switch to other events".
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