Two members of Nigeria’s gold winning 4x400m relay squad at Sydney 2000 Olympics, Fidelis Gadzama and Enefiok Udo-Obong has arrived in the country ahead the 2025 combined CAA U18/U-20 championships, which will hold at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena, Abeokuta, Ogun State from July 16-20.
While Gadzama, who is the head of the Security sub-committee arrived from his base in the United Kingdom, Udo-Obong, who heads the Technical sub-committee breezed in from his base in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Another member of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Rosa Collins-Okah, a three-time national triple jump champion has also breezed in from her base in Spain. Collins-Okah, who emerged the National Sports Festival triple jump champion at Makurdi ‘96, heads the Ceremonial sub-committee of the CAA U18/U20 Championships. She superintended over Nigeria’s greatest achievement at the 18th World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA in 2022, where hurdler Tobi Amusan and long jumper Ese Brume won gold and silver medal respectively.
The arrival of the trio will comprehend the work of other members of the LOC, who are already on ground in Abeokuta for the championships.
Secretary of the LOC, Sagaya Abdulmumeen, said on Monday that everything needed to host a hitch free championships have been put in place.
Abdulmumeen, who is the Chairman of Secretariat and Accreditation sub-committee, revealed that some top officials of the Confederation of African Athletics would start arriving the country later this week for the CAA council meeting ahead of the championships.
The 2025 combined CAA U18/U20 Championships, which is the third edition, has a record entry of over 800 athletes from about 40 countries. South Africa is the defending championships.
Meanwhile, Udo-Obong has advised countries and athletes against making the championships a do-or-die affair. He said athletes should not think about results alone, concentrate on developing themselves for future gain.