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AAG: Nigerian athletes set to make amends after Beijing flop

on   /   in Sports 12:13 am   /   Comments
By Ben Efe
Nigerian athletes to the IAAF world championships, made an unceremonious return to the country yesterday with the hope of  winning at the All Africa Games, to make up for the disappointment of not clinching any medal at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, China.
The team arrived Lagos at about 12 noon from Beijing and quietly dispersed. USA based athletes like Regina George and Gloria Asumnu flew back to their homes from China, and are unsure of making appearances at the All Africa Games starting September 4 in Brazzaville, Congo.
Nigeria’s last hope of collecting a medal in the women 4x400m fizzled out like dew in the morning Sun. The team in the final, failed to reproduce the form that saw them running a 3.23.27mins season’s best, which they did in the heats. Regina George, was overwhelmed, and she made the first change over placed fourth. Funke Oladoye, Tosin Adeloye and anchor Patience Okon-George, were simply swallowed up in the heated contest. Jamaica won at 3.19.13mins, they beat the USA, which had taken a lead through Allyson Felix at the third change over. The Americans finished 3.19.44, while Britain was third with 3.23.62mins.
“We gave it our best, but we couldn’t get a medal. I am happy with our performances, and I am also glad that I did a personal best in the flat.
“At the All African Games by God’s grace we will make up. It has always been my prayer to win gold,” Okon-George said yesterday.
The returning athletes are expected to join the others who were left behind to train in Port Harcourt for the All Africa Games. The athletics events will start on September 13, and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria technical committee is aiming to put the team back into better frame for the competition.