Africa’s fastest woman, Blessing Okagbare and five other Nigerians have been placed on elite athletes scholarships by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).
The other recipients are Divine Oduduru, Patience George, Regina George, Funke Oladoye and Tosin Adeloye, all track and field athletes.
ANOCA, with its headquarters in Nigeria, introduced this gesture to support the preparation of the elite athletes for the forthcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Speaking in Lagos on Friday, Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) President, Habu Gumel, revealed that 11 athletes are also on the list of the International Olympic Committee for another grant aimed at boosting the preparation of the athletes for the games.
These are Okagbare, Oduduru, Regina George, Ese Brume, Christian Morton (athletics), Oduayo Adekuruoye (wrestling), Adesanmi Oluwatoyin, Maryam Usman (weightlifting), Aruna Quadri, Effiong Edem (table tennis) and Jonathan Akinyemi (Rowing).
Gumel said: “The IOC grant is not new. The athletes get it regularly, especially in an Olympic year like this, but that of ANOCA is a new initiative. We are also working with the Ministry of Sports to ensure Nigeria performs well at the games.
- Guardian