By Ben Efe

Nigerian athletes will have their fitness level tested today in Port Harcourt as the Athletics Federation of Nigeria hopes to produce podium performances at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Athletes who have been in camp at the University of Port Harcourt High Performance Centre and others who have been training on their own, will compete in the one-day meet arranged by the AFN.

“The meet is just to gauge the level of preparedness of our athletes for the season’s challenges. We want to see how well they have responded to training in the camp, which started since November. We can only hope to see world standard performances as the build-up to the Olympics continues,” said the AFN president, Solomon Ogba yesterday.

File Photo: Nigeria’s Ajoke Odumosu (R) hands the baton to Regina George as they compete in the women’s 4X400 relay final of the London 2012 Olympic Games in London. PHOTO – AFP.

Speaking in the same vein, coach Tobias Igwe added that conditions in the camp have been good and the athletes are in buoyant mood for good performances.

The AFN is the only federation presently camping athletes ahead of the Olympics. Other federations are still waiting for the Sports Ministry to release funds to kick start their build-ups.

“It was early camping in Port Harcourt that made our home-based athletes produce good times at the All Africa Games last year. This is why the AFN president decided to seek resources for us keep the athletes in competitive mood before the start of the season,”Igwe, fondly called Toblow, stressed.