Nigeria's gold medalist Oluwatobiloba Amusan clocked 12.52 seconds to win the women's 100m race at the Stockholm Diamond League held at the Bauhaus Galan on Sunday night. The Nigerian sprinter, who broke the world record last year at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA with a new time of 12.12, was the fastest in the race ahead of the Irish Sarah Lavin who covered PB of 12.73. s to keep second. Pia Skrzyszowska of Poland settled for a comfortable third place in 12.78 seconds. Last Friday, the two-time Commonwealth Games champion finished second in the same event at the Lausanne Diamond League stop behind Puerto Rican Jasmine Camacho-Quinn who clocked 12.40 seconds to win the race. Athletes receive points rather than awards for competing in each level of the League of Legends Series. The top eight players in each game at the end of all stages will advance to the Diamond League finals, where they will compete for the trophy. The tournament in Stockholm is the seventh event of the 2023 Diamond League season. The 2023 Diamond League series will conclude with a two-day final in Eugene, USA on September 16-17.
Meanwhile, thousands of football fans in Benin City and surrounding areas will begin flocking to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium today to catch a glimpse of the international players training in the country. face the national test to select the entrance to the 2023 World Games in Budapest, Hungary. More than 160 players, including some from home, from the United States and some European countries, will travel to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium from July 5 to 7 to compete for tickets to Budapest. Although the Football Association of Nigeria (AFN) has set July 4 (tomorrow) as the date, some foreign stars have started arriving in Benin City. Last year, the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium hosted a national competition, where athletes were selected for the World Championship in Oregon and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. The chairman of the Judiciary Organizing Committee, Yusuf Alli, assured the sports enthusiasts that the Edo State government and people will give the best treatment to the visiting players and officials at all times. they are in Benin City. Alli, who is the chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission and is the longest-running record holder in 1989 in Lagos also said yesterday that there will be side shows such as traditional dances to entertain fans. All eyes will be on the reigning world runner, Tobiloba Amusan in Benin City. So is Ese Brume who won the silver medal in the last edition in the United States. Others include; sprinter Favor Ofili, 400m hurdles runner, Nathaniel Ezekiel, javelin thrower, Nnamdi Prosper, shot putter, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, triple jumper, Ruth Usoro, Chioma Onyekwere. Runners like Godson Brume, Okorobya Udodi Onwuzurike, Samuel Ogazi, and veteran quarterback Patience Okon-George will also be among the stars performing the parade.
“The security personnel at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium will be having a tough time controlling the large turnout of fans. The fans want to watch the foreign-based athletes in training,” an AFN official, who is the advanced team to Edo State revealed yesterday. “I am sure the crowd will be more this year compared to what we had last year because of the superlative performance by Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume at the last edition of the World Championship in Oregon, United States”, the official added. Alli, who is the Chairman of Edo State Sports Commission, and whose Long Jump record set in 1989 in Lagos still stands till date, also assured all yesterday that there would be side attractions like cultural dance to entertain the fans. “Apart from being the best Sporting State in Nigeria, Edo State is also the home of culture and entertainment. All these will be on display throughout the National Trials,” Alli promised.
