Global Athletics Weekly

Listen as we discuss the 2017 Diamond League Finals in Zurich and Brussels where 32 winners emerged in the series. We also talk about the recent historic decision by the IOC, simultaneously awarding the hosting rights of the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games to Paris and Los Angeles respectively.

In this episode we review the just ended National Youth Games in Ilorin. Who were our standout athletes? What do we have to say about the states' participation, and those like Lagos who didn't send a team. We will also talk about Chiamaka Egbochinam winning Silver in the Girls's 100m. We also talk about D'Tigers & D'Tigress on their Afrobasket exploits. Obviously different strokes for the two teams.

It was a championship of upsets, and we would focus on the major upsets at the competition: Usain Bolt finishing 3rd in the 100m; Elaine Thompson not finishing on the podium; neither of Allyson Felix nor Shaunae Miller-Uibo winning the 400m; Mo Farah losing his 5000m title; Yulimar Rojas winning the Triple Jump ahead of Caterine Ibarguen; Ryan Crouser not finishing on the podium; Sally Pearson winning the 100m Hurdles ahead of Harrison; Kori Carter winning the women’s 400m Hurdles; Ramil Guliyev winning the 200m; Ambroise Bosse winning the men’s 800m; Trinidad and Tobago in the 4x400m; Great Britain in the men’s 4x100m, Emma Couburn in the women’s Steeplechase, etc.   We also will on two sets of athletes; first of all, those who claimed their first world titles and those who retained theirs   We then discuss the Isaac Makwala debacle which marred the atmosphere of the championships for a few days. What really went down? Was the issue well handled? What about the conspiracy theories?   Finally we focus on Usain Bolt and his legacy. What will we miss most about Bolt? Will the world ever see another Bolt? What's next for Usain Bolt/

We talk about Nigeria's performance at the London World Championships where for the second successive time we have failed to win a medal. How is it becoming normal that a country of Nigeria's prospects and population can't seem to win a medal at a global championships like this?   It is also of bad note, the shoddy preparations of Team Nigeria, with athletes needing the intervention of IAAF before they could secure UK visas, and having to arrive just a day before their events. Even some got to London a day before the end of the championship. Did we not shoot ourselves on the foot?   Fast forward to Doha 2019, do we think we can end the medal drought in Qatar, what do we need to do to be able to finish on the podium then?   Now that the season has ended, do we think ensuring that the National Sports Festival happens this year will help Nigerian athletes get ready for 2018 season, considering that the Commonwealth Games will happen in April?

A few shocking and disappointing performances were recorded. Blessing Okagbare seems to have been picking up at the right time. Elaine Thompson put up a fierce performance against Marie Talou. Shaunae Miller put up a winning performance, while Caster Semenya really trailed. Nigel Amos also bouncing back at the right time.   What are the potentials of Andre DeGrasse at the World Champs in the 200m. Conseslus Kipruto did not win his Steeplechase event. A new champion emerged.   We also go back to the Lausanne and London Diamond Leagues that happened close to each other.   We also go back to the World U18 in Kenya. Some impressive times were posted. South Africa is rising to dominance in track and field events, as this was evident in them topping the medal table.

We talking about the National Championships which held at the National Stadium, Abuja. What were the highlight moments, who were those that made the headlines?   We share our thoughts on Nigeria's absence from the World under 18   Later in the week the Warri Grand Prix takes place in Osoro.  

After the AFN election that saw a new president emerge, the Appeals Committee has come to nullify it and call for a new presidential election.   We also review the first ever AFN/MOC National Youth and Junior Champs that was held at the Abuja National Stadium. We then talk about Nigeria being unable to present a team in Algeria, the first time it is happening in ten years, despite us being defending champions from two years ago.   We also talk about the National Championships coming up from July 13th-15th. We dissect all the controversies from the list of invited athletes to the dates. Why isn't the likes of Seye Ogunlewe, Regina George and co not on the team? On the other hand we also talk about the inclusion of so many MoC athletes. 12 of them made the team this year as against just 2 who did last year

At the Paris Diamond League, Nijel Amos bounced back to winning ways. Are things shaping up for him before the World Champs? Some upsets happened in the Men's Javelin, 110m Hurdles, 3000m Steeplechase and women's 1500m. Do we think they happened by a stroke of luck, or does it signify that things could change ahead of the World Championships? Can the likes of Elaine Thompson, Sam Kendricks, Mutaz Barshim and Chris Taylor extend their unbeaten run to the World Championships? What about a Will Claye vs Taylor rivalry in the Triple Jump? And with Pichardo back, will things be any different? What is happening to Renaud Lavillenie who seems to have lost his confidence? We also saw Ramil Guliyev's surprise emergence in the 200m?   We also review the US and Jamaican National Trials. Highlights from the US Trials include the fastest ever women's 400m Hurdles race which was won with 52.64s; Gatlin and Tori Bowie winning the 100m titles, Christian Coleman's emergence as the only male sprinter doing the 100m/200m in London, Noah Lyles pulling out of the 200m; the emergence of young sprinters on the US team like Deajah Stevens who won the women's 200m ahead of Tori Bowie, and Fred Kerly, World Leader in the 400m with 43.70s, winning the US title; With LaShawn Merritt and Allyson Felix pulling out of the 200m, youth seems to be upstaging experience in the US team. We will also talk about Ryan's Crouser's best Shot Put throw in the world in 14 years;   From the Jamaican Trials, Elaine Thompson won the 100m with a new WL and has opted out of the 200m. What does this portend? Who is the likely women's 200m Champion in London? Yohan Blake won the sprint double. Can he make the podium twice in London? Seems Veronica Campbell-Brown's best days are over as she didn't compete due to injury. What can we say about her career?

Leading off with last weekend's AFN/Dynamic Solutions meet. Making of Champions' Joy Udo Gabriel ran two PBs to qualify for the African Junior Championships later this month. Also, another MoC athlete - Glory Nyenke attained qualification as well.   Samson Nathaniel and Yinka Ajayi also both qualified for the London World Championships.  We also express our general outlook on the AFN/Dynamic Sporting Solutions meet which held in Abuja.   We then talk about Blessing Okagbare who ran an SB last weekend in Marseille, and looks like she would be one of the leading athletes expected at the Racers Grand Prix in Jamaica this weekend. Margaret Bamgbose also hit qualification for London 2017 at this same meet.  Peter Moreno has broken the Decathlon National Record set by Lee Okoroafor since 2003, setting a new one (subject to ratification).    We conclude by talking about the AFN elections next week, are there clear front-runners now? Listen to discover a new board member that has emerged.

We review the Adidas Boost Boston Games. -  Wayde Van Niekerk won the 200m straight, while Shaunae Miller-Uibo raced to fastest time ever over the distance, a time of 21.76s, smashing Allyson Felix’s former mark of 22.55s. Both Felix and Van Niekerk are going for the 200/400 double in London. Can Miller pull off both successfully?  -  Tori Bowie won the 150m in 16.30s, also erasing Felix’s former mark of 16.33s. Where do we place Bowie in the scheme of things? Will Felix go for the double, since that was her target for Rio, and even if she does, can she stand the onslaught from the likes of Thompson, Bowie and Dafne Schippers in the 200m? Is it safe to say her best days are over? -  Alonso Edward won the 150m in 15.09s, beating Nickel Ashmeade and Yohan Blake. Can Blake successfully combine the sprint double, or should he just stick with the 100m in London? -  Keston Bledman won the 100m in 10.21s, same time as Akani Simbine who was 2nd. Is the law of diminishing returns setting in for the South African?   We review the Josef Odložil Memorial in Prague, Czech on Monday. -          Antonio Alkana set an African and Meeting Record to win the 110 Hurdles, fifth fastest time in the world this year.  Listen to find out his time. -          Mosito Lehata won the 100m in a PB and NR, same time as Japan’s Yoshihide Kiryu who was 2nd, while South African Thando Roto was 3rd. -          Wenda Nel won the 400m Hurdles in an SB of 54.66s, 9th on the 2017 World list. South Africa seems to be producing a lot of stars in various events. What can other African nations learn from them? -          Isaac Makwala placed 5th in the 400m. The race was won by Luka Janezic in an MR. Are the younger Botswanans sending Makwala into retirement?   We preview the Rome Diamond League on Thursday. -          Women’s 100m: Dafne Schippers vs Ta Lou, Michelle-Lee Ahye & Tianna Bartoletta -          Men’s 200m: Andre De Grasse vs Ameer Webb, Aaron Brown & Brendon Rodney -          Men’s Javelin: Thomas Rohler vs Johannes Vetter, Julius Yego, Andreas Hofmann -          Women’s Triple Jump: World Leader Yulimar Rojas vs Caterine Ibarguen & Olga Rypakova -          Men’s 3000m Steeplechase: Conseslus Kipruto vs Ezekiel Kemboi -          Women’s 5000m: Genzebe Dibaba vs Hellen Obiri -          110 Hurdles: Orlando Ortega vs Aries Merritt, David Oliver and Andrew Pozzi -          Women’s 400m: Novlene Williams-Mills (50.54s) vs Botswana’s Lydia Jele who is the fastest in the field (50.32s), & Natasha Hastings (50.74s)

Highlights in this episode include:  At the Jamaican Invitational -Elaine Thompson ran a WL of 22.09s. Is it possible for Thompson to get beaten this year?  - 20-year old Kyron McMaster won the 400m Hurdles with a scorching WL of 47.80s; Is a new order emerging in the 400m Hurdles?  - Yohan Blake won the 100m in an SB of 9.93s; is he back for real?  - Morolake Akinosun won the women's event   - Andre De Grasse won the 200m in 20.14s, Merritt was 2nd. Can he successfully pull off the 200m//400m double this year? - 35-year old Novlene Williams-Mills won the 400m in 50.54s. It was an emotional victory for her because she'll be retiring at the end of the season. Having overcome cancer, can we say she has courage?   Review of the Kawasaki World Challenge - Justin Gatlin won the 100m in 10.28s. - Aaron Brown won the 200m in 20.62s - China's Shiying Liu won the women's Javelin with an Asian Record of 66.47m - Tianna Bartoletta won the Long Jump with 6.79m, Shara proctor 2nd with 6.65m  - Ivet Lalova-Collio won the sprint double in 11.40s and 22.98s  - Thomas Rohler won the Javelin in 86.55m - Queen Harrison won the 100m Hurdles in 12.65s   Review of the Shanghai Diamond League - Luvo Manyonga setting a DLR of 8.61m in the Long Jump. He said he was aiming for 8.80m. Is the World Record under threat? - Several WLs set:Elaine Thompson's 10.78s in the 100m, Bowie 2nd in 11.04s and Ta Lou 3rd in 11.07s. Murielle Ahoure was 6th in the race. Is it safe to say that Ta Lou has overtaken her mentor? - Shaunae Miller-Uibo's WL of 49.77s. What do we expect to see in the women's 400m this year? - Noah Lyles 19.90s in the 200m. Is he a factor in the scheme of things? - Bershawn Jackson's MR of 48.63s in the 400m Hurdles, Kipyegon's WL of 3:59.22 in the 1500m, Hellen Obiri's WL of 14.22.47 in the 5000m, Ruth Jebet's revenge in the 3000m Steeplechase, winning with an MR of 9:04.78

In this episode, we recall the exploits of Nigeria athletes since the turn of the year. We commence with Nigeria's ill-fated participation at the World Relays and then we touch on the Penn relays too. Some Nigerian athletes have also already qualified for the World Championships in London. Listen to find out who they are.   Two promising foreign-based Nigerian athletes have sadly switched their allegiances to the U.S. Why does this continue to happen and how can it be stemmed in future?   There have also been a series local competitions recently. Such include the All Comers in PH, NUGA in Makurdi. Then we look into the four Golden Leagues coming up. When will the DK Olukoya Championships hold and in what city?   What should we look forward to this year, which athlete do we think will impress the most this year? Do we see Nigeria getting a medal at the World Championships?

The IAAF World Relays held in the Bahamas from April 22-23. We recap USA's amazing winnings, Jamaica's Championship Record and the shocking baton display, Germany's unexpected GOLD, Canada and Botswana. What does the future hold for them in London's World Champs? We also touch on Highlights from South Africa’s National Championships where Wayde Van Niekerk ran a World Lead, Luvo Manyonga and her record with Caster Semenya qualifying for both events in London: will both she and Van Niekerk go for the double? What are their prospects? Top 5 fastest times in the world in the 200m are from 4 South Africans: can they defeat the Jamaicans and Americans? We also go back in time to the Penn Relays where the battle for supremacy between the USA and Jamaica continued. Listen to see how that played out. And remember, the power man Usain Bolt retires this year. How would this affect Jamaica? Also, fast forwarding into the immediate future, the IAAF Diamond League kicks off on May 5th in Doha! Which key events should you watch out for? 

What more is there to say other than about Top Sprinter 2016. We discuss about the three-day competition, and what it was like bringing some of the best Nigerian athletes to compete in Lagos. Who were the standout performers? What do we make of Mercy Ntia-Obong’s double? Raymond Ekevwo beating the seniors to win the men’s 100m title. National athletes likeNathaniel Samson, Yinka Ajayi dominating the quarter-mile.   There were notable national athletes who also took part: Nicholas ran in the 100m heats, Peter Moreno in the 200m heats, and others. Was it a sign of acceptability, going by the calibre of athletes present? Then coming to the Juniors, MoC Track club’s Joy Udo-Gabriel and Jerry Jakpa showing tremendous progress as they both stormed to a double. Surely the track club has been immense in their young careers.   We also speculate on which athletes and how many may be recruited into MoC TrackClub. There were many firsts on Top Sprinter 2016: Live-streaming of the event,Para-athletes also taking part, and the field events for Juniors.   Finally,we do a general review of Team Nigeria’s performance in Athletics this year.There were many competitions Nigeria took part in: African Champs in Durban,World Junior Champs in Poland and Rio Olympics & Paralympics. What do we make of our outing at these Championships? Who is our standout Nigerian athlete this year?

Top on the agenda is Top Sprinter 2016. Over 700 confirmed athletes expected to turn up for the event? Athletes will be traveling in from around Nigeria.   For the first time ever in Nigeria, we will be streaming an athletics event LIVE on Facebook (www.facebook.com/makingofchamps). So viewers from around the world can watch Top Sprinter Live. CEO of Making of Champions, speaks on partnership with Lagos State Sports Commission on the Lagos Relays at Top Sprinter’s last day, October 1st. Top line Team Nigeria athletes would also be competing this week in Lagos, like Divine Oduduru.   Live in this episode is Olympic Medallist Deji Aliu speaking about running sub 10s and what it takes to be a great athlete. Also in this episode are two athletes - Jerry Jakpa and Joy Udo-Gabriel who were discovered at Top Sprinter last year and now in the MoC Track club. They also happen to be the first set of athletes awarded a Student-Athlete Scholarship by Arco Group.   The Paralympians are back in the country. So far there’s nothing from the government with regards to monetary incentives, just a congratulatory message sent out to the contingent.  Although it must be pointed out that the House of Representatives members have collectively agreed to part with N50,000 each to donate to the team. News also got round that the Imo State Governor has rewarded athletes from his state. What is the best reward Nigeria can possibly give to these athletes who did the country proud in Brazil? Who should get the more support, Paralympians or Olympians? Listen to the hot debate!

 A general review of Nigeria’s performance at the Rio2016 Paralympic Games. What can be done to have a sustained performance like this at subsequent Paralympics in years to come?   Nigeria finished 22nd in London, although with more medals, 13. However this time around Nigeria moved up five places to finish 17th with 12 medals, although with more GOLD medals than was won four years ago.    How come the Paralympians are performing better than Olympians? Not like the former get better treatment from the sporting federations, or are they more motivated? What could be the story behind their success? Looking forward to Tokyo 2020, what are our expectations? Would things have changed by then.    National Youth Games reviewed.   It’s the final week of registration for Top Sprinter. As we are enter the final phase of registrations, those who haven’t done so have till 25th to do so.  A few more things to know about this years’ event:  Nigerian Olympians Oduduru, Erayokan, over 400 others confirmed for Top Sprinter 2016!  Top Sprinter 2016 Event Schedule released as Registration Deadline approaches

A review of the Paralympic Games with a focus on other non-Nigerian records. The special stories or memories we have from the Paralympics. For instance China won overall with a whopping 107 Gold medals and 239 overall. What are they doing that everyone can learn from?   The Iranian cyclist who died on Saturday morning, Bahman Golbarnechad, and the other Iranian, Morteza Mehreadselakjani who competed in the Sitting Volleyball and is 2.46m tall, towering over everyone. Also Egypt’s Ibrahim Hamadtou who has no arms but competed in T/Tennis, holding the bat in his mouth, and uses his foot to lift the ball, etc.   General review of Track and Field in 2016. Who were the standout performers? Below are links of some of the reviews we did. Also what are we looking forward to in 2016? What clashes/events are we to watch out for?  Top 10 African performers at the Rio Olympics Part 1  Top 10 African performers at the Rio Olympics Part 2  

As at the time of this recording, Nigeria already had a whooping 10 medals in the ongoing Paralympics which include 7 GOLD, 2 Silver and a Bronze medal. We talk about each Nigerian athlete who has won a medal and what event they competed in.  The extraordinary feat of our Powerlifters, because at the moment only about three did not win medals. What makes Nigeria thick in this event? How come that even in Athletics we have won two GOLD medals and also both were achieved with World Record marks? Lauritta Onyie and Flora Ugwunna excelling in F40 Shot Put & F54 Javelin. The GOLD medals could have been more, if defending champion Yakubu Adesokan had not missed his event. Hannah Babalola finished 7th in 100m T54 while she will be competing in the 800m which is not her primary event. Any chance she could win a medal? We would conclude the Paralympics talks by predicting where we see Nigeria finishing after the Games on Saturday.    On Top Sprinter 2016, over 300 Athletes already registered in 1 week, with some from the Olympics & World Championships. Registration is still open and athletes who haven’t registered can still do so. Find out more on www.makingofchamps.com/registration

Elaine Thompson continues her winning streak against Dafne Schippers in the 100m. Almaz Ayana did a Meet Record in the women’s 5000m. Listen to the debate on who is the queen of the 200m. Sandi Morris setting an MR, DLR and American Record in the women’s Pole vault, Conseslus Kipruto in the 3000m Steeplechase, Caster Semenya winning the 400m with a Personal Best (will she be aiming for the 400m/800m double next season? Erik Kynard winning the High Jump (men) and Nafi Thiam (women), etc   Other stories from recent happenings: Mo Farah and Vivian Cheruiyot win the Great North Run, ending their seasons with victories. It was also Vivian Cheruiyot’s debut in the road races and she beat the likes of Tirunesh Dibaba and Jeptoo.   Meanwhile World Junior Shot put Champion Konrad Bukowiecki tested positive for Higenamine during the World Juniors. It’s not exactly a banned substance but it’s not meant to be taken during competition. He has requested for his B sample to be tested.

Nigeria would be competing in Powerlifting, Athletics and Table Tennis at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. Listen to our preview of the event. Making Of Champions launches its 2016 edition of the Top Sprinter competition as online registration opens. Also, for the first time, there will be prize monies to be won by Senior athletes and other merchandise up for grabs for the junior and youth athletes. MoC athletes also shine at the Eko Athletics Grand Prix