Enoch Adegoke, a 100m gold medallist at the just-concluded 2nd Making of Champions (MoC) Grandprix in Lagos, says his target for the competition is to meet the World Athletics World Championships standard.
Adegoke, who ran a Personal Best (PB) of 10.12 seconds at the championships, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos that hope was not lost as there were more competitions to take part in.
“My target was to hit the qualification standard for the World Championships, but then when it didn’t come, what can I do?
“I believe with other competitions coming up, I will hit the standard by God’s grace,’’ he said.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games 100m finalist was a few seconds behind the 10.10 seconds qualification standard set by the world body.
He told NAN that he equally got the motivation to win the race because a lot of foreign-based athletes have been hitting the standard.
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“A lot of things motivated me, but the major factor is that lots of our mates have been running outside and have been qualifying.
“We are here, we have not really got anything in terms of competitions to qualify, so, I was motivated to get more,’’ he said.
Alaba Akintola, who also clocked a PB of 10.35seconds came second, while Emmanuel Arowolo with a season’s best of 10.38 seconds placed third.
Adegoke, a student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, said that the stakes were now high as lots of Nigerian 100m male athletes were bracing up for the best.
“A lot of Nigerian athletes have been running good times, the stake is now high, we are looking forward to more and better times. Male athletes are really bracing up,’’ he said.
The runner won the 2018 West African University Games (WAUG) with a time of 10.21 seconds and a bronze medallist at the 2018 National Sports Festival (NSF).
NAN reports that no fewer than 500 athletes competed for medals at the championships which held from June 15 to June 16 at the Yaba College of Technology. (NAN)
