Bukola Olopade, the Director-General, National Sports Commission (NSC), said that Nigeria can raise swimmers that can beat their counterparts across the globe if the necessary infrastructures and support are put in place.
Olopade, who is the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the 2024 National Sports Festival tagged ‘Gateway Games’, said this while addressing newsmen on Wednesday in Abeokuta.
“I believe we can raise swimmers from Nigeria that can beat the world; all we need to do is to encourage the swimmers by putting in place infrastructure, organising regular competitions and prioritising athletes’ welfare.
“Athletes’ welfare is extremely important if you want them to excel. If we can do that, more athletes will win medals for the country.
“I believe we are building a new system aimed at improving the sport. Just recently, we sent six junior swimmers to Cairo. One of them won three gold medals and a bronze, while the others finished fourth and fifth.
“That’s something that has not happened in nearly 40 years: a gold medal in swimming at any level. Please correct me if I’m wrong, he said.
“With infrastructure like this and a culture of support, our swimmers can achieve even more. Look at the young girl from Ogun who won the 800m gold. She came in from the UK with her parents, determined to representa, he said.
“You and I are stakeholders. The swimmers are stakeholders. We must all be intentional. We must believe we can produce world-class swimmers in Nigeria.
“We need to do more in infrastructure, competition, and especially athlete welfare. If we get that right, more people will be inspired to win medals,” he said.
In a related development, Rachel Tonjor, a Nigerian record holder in the women’s 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke and women’s 100m individual medley, has called for regular competitions to discover more talents in the country.
The swimmer who set the record at the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique, said that organising regular competitions would help the talents to develop their skills.
She added that the tournaments would help the swimmers to win laurels for the country and garner more experience.
“Between 2011 and now, the record I set in Maputo is still standing. So I’m looking forward to seeing someone break the record during this festival.
“People say Nigeria isn’t winning medals at the Olympics or World Championships, but there are things we must fix first before we can achieve that feat,” she said.
According to her, there are no sponsors for swimming. Unlike other sports where companies like Coca-Cola are involved, swimming lacks that kind of support.
She said that this challenge has impacted negatively on the sport in the country. (NAN)