By Desmond Ovbiagale
The first twinges of disquiet came when, knowing my irrepressibly optimistic compatriots, I investigated a suspicion and discovered that the gazelle from Sapele had been registered for combat in 4 events at the championships, three of which were individual (100m, 200m, Long Jump; plus the 4x100m relay).

Ahem. Okay. I mean, who does that?

‘Carl Lewis!’ my new converts shoot back triumphantly.

Yes,the great man won four gold medals in the very same events at LA ’84. But wasn’t he the outstanding athlete of not just his own disciplines, but in his entire generation? A legend in the making, competing for the greatest nation that world has yet known with the most sophisticated facilities and technical information at his disposal? Competing in his own backyard, spurred on by crowds ravenous for Glory USA?

‘Ehn, but …’

Didn’t his equally talented female counterpart, Marion Jones, attempt an even more bombastic feat 16 years later by adding the 4x400m relay to the same suite of events at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and end up with ‘only’ 3 gold medals and two bronzes, all of which she was subsequently stripped of after revelations that her heroics were only accomplished with the assistance of substances not provided or approved by any institution of fairplay?

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare (2nd-R) wins heat 1 during the women’s 100 metres semi-final at the 2013 IAAF World Championships at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on August 12, 2013. AFP PHOTO

Didn’t Allyson Felix, one of my favourite athletes, gun for quadruple glory in 200m, 400m, and the 4×1 / 4×4 relays at the 2011 World Champs? Although a 3-time 200m champion, she could only manage a bronze at her favoured discipline due to her earlier exertions in the 400 where she got silver.

All these were history lessons available to be learnt from the mistakes of others at no cost whatsoever.

Even the modern legend that is Usain Bolt has never attempted more than 3 events at any major championships. Efforts to persuade him to add the 400m or long jump to his illustrious repertoire have been consistently rebuffed. As they say – no be yam.

But someone somewhere had no qualms about formally entering our brightest (indeed, our only) prospect into 3 physically demanding individual events plus sprint relay (in fact, as the championships wore on, she was incredibly also being considered for the 4×4 relay to try and salvage yet another lean outing by the nation on the global stage). This, despite the fact that a cursory look at the meeting timetable would have highlighted the clear disadvantage of competing in both the 100m and Long Jump, with both events scheduled to be completed in 3 consecutive days.

Meaning that whilst the vastly experienced and thoroughly prepared Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce (who had the fastest time in the world this year) was conserving precious energy for the climax of her signature event, the young African pretender to her crown was busy flinging herself all over the place, battling in Long Jump qualification, then 100m quarterfinals, then back to contesting the Long Jump final, before challenging for victory in the tension-soaked 100m semis and finals taking place within the space of a mere 2 hours.

‘Abeg! She can manage … isn’t she a rugged Naija girl, unlike those ajebota Jamo and Yankee women?’

Okay o.

Anyhow … I looked on anxiously as she cruised through the early rounds of the 100, then did herself a big favour by qualifying for the Long Jump final with her first and only jump.

‘Fantastic!’ I rejoiced inwardly. Maybe this thing could really work! She looked calm. Focused. Determined. Businesslike. Professional. An aura rarely seen around our representatives at the highest level. She looked like she belonged there.

What twinges of disquiet? The devil is a liar. Clearly, this was the year of Blessing! She was going to –

Then that wild-eyed American girl pulls out a 7.01m effort in her very first jump of the final. Putting all her fellow competitors under immediate pressure. Especially the refreshingly ambitious Ms. Okagbare who spent the next 6 jumps straining every inch of her considerable frame to overhaul that mark, her final effort ending an agonizing 2 cm from the coveted gold position.

So silver it was. And we rejoiced. After all, the American was an Olympic and double World Champion. And this was only our second individual medal since 1987. But at what cost?

The following day … 100m semi finals. Three of them. The favourites in the other two duly won theirs in impressive style. Especially the Jamaican.

And Okagbare? Well, she won hers too. But it was sweet and sour. Sour because it was the slowest victory of the 3 races and her most sluggish start all season, fuelling a suspicion that the rigours of glory-hunting the previous day may have sapped vital freshness from the gazelle’s legs. Sweet because her formidable kick was nonetheless in full effect and carried her tearing through the pack to the front in highly impressive style.

So what did she have left for the all-important final, one of the two show-piece events of the Championships? Her expression revealed little as she stood patiently behind her starting blocks. But its slightly grim quality disturbingly resembled that of a heptathlete in endurance mode deep into the second day of her heroic quest. Somehow it lacked the vitality of a sprint queen determined to claim her crown by force or by fire.

The starter’s pistol cracked. Eight finely sculpted bodies leapt forward, the Jamaican’s one of the first, as is her custom; Okagbare’s one of the last, as is also her custom.