President Muhammadu Buhari, sports minister Sunday Dare and Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro have joined millions of Nigerians in commending the country’s medallists at the Oregon 2022 World Athletics Championships, Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume.
On the final day of the global competition this morning in the United States of America, Amusan set a new women’s 110 metres world record with 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals and a wind-aided 12.06s in the final to win Nigeria’s first-ever gold medal in the competition.
On her part, Brume won the silver medal in women’s long jump with a 7.02m leap to claim her third global outdoor medal after bronze at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar in 2019 and the Tokyo Olympics last year.
In a statement after the feats for Team Nigeria, Femi Adesina, Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, said: “The President joins millions of Nigerians in celebrating this outstanding feat by a compatriot and two-time African Games champion, who in one night stunned the athletics world with her superlative and stellar performance.
“The President thanks the track superstar for making the Nigerian national anthem resonate again from the international podium, leaving the nation with the excitement and unforgettable memories of tears of joy and triumph; hope and victory; incredulity and belief.
“President Buhari says the legendary career and achievements of the golden girl will continue to inspire the upcoming generations of Nigerian athletes to achieve spectacular success.
“He also commended Ese Brume for representing Nigeria with honour and pride, winning a silver medal in the women’s long jump event.”
Buhari lauded Team Nigeria for displaying courage, integrity and good sportsmanship on the world stage, proving that success is achievable with hard work and determination.
Reacting to Nigeria’s late rally for medals in Oregon and one of the country’s best performances ever at the Championships, Dare said these heartwarming feats will herald a new dawn for the country’s athletics.
“I am so proud of what Tobi Amusan, Ese Brume and even those who didn’t get on the podium have achieved in Eugene, Oregon. This is the beginning of great things for Nigerian athletics. This is a new dawn,” Dare said.
“Years of hard work and consistently knocking on the door have yielded the right dividends. For the first time in our history we have a world champion. This is huge. Congratulations to Nigeria.”
The minister also highlighted a few other positive results for Team Nigeria even though they did not end in medals.
“For me, these medals are not the only positives from the World Championships. The 4×100m relay teams (men and women) showed a lot of promise for the future,” he added.
“The women barely got here as the 16th best team in the world but they got so close to getting on the podium, the men also gave it their best shot and showed they have a bright future.
“Our athletes in the short sprints also showed character. Some of them are competing on a high level stage like this for the first time, rubbing shoulders with very experienced and tournament tested veterans and legends and not falling too far behind in extremely tough situations.
“They can beat their chests and be proud of what they have achieved. We now have the responsibility to continue to support them by creating the right environment for their growth.”
With the World Championships now over, focus will shift to the Commonwealth Games starting later this week in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
“We have gained a great momentum going into the Commonwealth Games now, this will definitely inspire Team Nigeria to making a huge impact in Birmingham,” Dare said.
Super Eagles head coach Peseiro was impressed by the outstanding performances of Amusan and Brume, the Portuguese tweeting: “Tobi Amusan set a world record and won the gold medal, while Ese Brume won the silver medal and both brought home two medals for Nigeria from the World Athletics Championship.
“This is the ambition I like to see in Nigerians! Congratulations to Team Nigeria!”
