Read more about Sports
Adegoke who says he is ‘”running by revelation,” won the 100m final at the event with a new Personal Best (PB) of 10.00s (+1.2) to qualify for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games this summer. After his exploits in the 100m race, he led a team of Nigerian sprinters (Usheoritse Itsekiri, Fakorede Adekalu and Godson Brume) to win the 4x100m relay race and stay in a favourable position to qualify Nigeria for the Olympics. It is interesting to note that Adegoke’s new Personal Best of 10.00s (+1.2) is a significant improvement from his 10.28 seconds winning 100m time at the National Sports Festival in Edo in April. In the mixed 4x100m relay race final of the sports festival, Adegoke was part of the Team Edo athletes that won gold with a new benchmark of 42.44 seconds. He was also part of the Edo State men’s 4x100m relay team that won gold in a time of 39.75 seconds on home soil during the festival. Adegoke made the headlines in 2018 during the Commonwealth Games in Australia. After victories in his heat and semi-final of the 100m event, he qualified for the final only to place 7th after running 10.35 seconds, 0.32 seconds shy of South Africa’s Akani Simbine who won the 100m race in Gold Coast. The Nigerian also competed in the 4x100m relay at the event, but Nigeria was disqualified from competing in the final.
Sign up to the Connect Nigeria daily newsletter
The talent of Adegoke would impress the Nigerian Minister of Youth and Sports Development. After watching the new National champion in training at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, on Tuesday, April 27th, 2021, the minister adopted him under the Adopt An Athlete Initiative (AAI), a program aimed at supporting Nigerian athletes financially in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.
Got a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com