By Ben Efe

Nigeria’s Udodi Onwuzurike was no doubt one of the star athletes at the just concluded World Athletics U-20 Championships after he sensationally claimed the men’s 200m title with a run of 20.21seconds a new national junior record.

Not much was known about Onwuzurike,18, who is fresh from high school and enrolled as a Student of Stanford University California, USA. But when Onwuzurike stormed down the finish at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya all athletics buffs agree a star has been born. Nigerian sports officials who were in Kenya looking for an athlete to give them instant results were ecstatic, but Onwuzurike practically begged to represent Nigeria.

Born to Nigerian parents in the USA, Onwuzurike throughout his high school showed much of his athletics prowess, he is a multi-event athlete and was under much pressure to represent the United States of America.

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As the U-20 Championships beckoned his dad insisted that he represented Nigeria at all cost. And so they began to chase after Athletics Federation of Nigeria officials to no avail. It was Nigerian coach based in the USA Taiwo Ariyo a.k.a Mr. T, that worked the phones, yet there was no official forth coming, until he contacted fellow coach, Gabriel Opuana who speedily facilitated Onwuzurike’s registration for the Nairobi 2021 event. Onwuzurike and his dad paid their way to Nairobi to represent Nigeria.

On the tracks, the Youngster did not give any indication in the heats that he is a candidate for the gold. It was Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo who won the 100m that was favorite. But in the semi-final Onwuzurike post a wind assisted 20.13seconds to send a warning and in the final, he took the race at 20.21seconds to become the second Nigerian to win the 200m after Francis Obikwelu.

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“It wasn’t easy getting the AFN to register Onwuzurike. If not for his fathers insistence that he runs for Nigerian that is how we would have lost him to other countries,” coach Ariyo.

“We have so many Nigerian-born athletes all over the world. But because we are not organised back home, these kids easily get attracted to other nations.

“It is about time we stop all the shenanigans in Nigeria and get serious about athletics development.

“Even back in Nigeria there are many kids in the towns and villages who are naturally endowed, but because we are not doing the right things, that is why we have to struggle, while Jamaica a country not event the size of Delta State is dominating world athletics.”

Vanguard News Nigeria