Sports Briefs
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PIUS Bazigbe, a gold medallist at the 1995 African Games Championships has decried the type of Javelin equipment used at competitions in Nigeria. Bazigbe told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that the aerodynamic Javelins should be adopted because they added distance to athletes’ throw.
“Javelin is an international sport that has been of importance since Athens Olympics, it is taken in high esteem in other countries. Field events in Nigeria, especially Javelin have been abandoned. The Javelin we use in Nigeria is not aerodynamic. If we do not use the right equipment, the athletes will not improve.
“Athletics in Nigeria needs to go back to the drawing board; I have told the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, board that aerodynamic Javelins go far but they haven’t listened,” he said.
Bazigbe said there was no reason for the AFN not to have selected Samuel Kure who threw 72.00m for the forthcoming Olympics, adding that he threw 74.00m last year. “Javelin throwers also need international experience; it should not just end at the continental level. Kure who won gold at the Golden League in Akure should have been selected. We have talented throwers but when the Javelin used is not standard, what do you expect? Magic cannot happen, he said.
NAN reports that the Javelin throw Olympics qualification for men is 83.00m, while that of the women is 62.00m. He said Kure should have been included in the Olympics, if not for medal but for exposure.
Bazigbe represented the country at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He set the current national record of 80.08 metres in 1999 and till date, no one has beaten the record.
— Aug 8, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
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