TheNewsGuru

Tag: ATHLETE

  • MEET Samson Dauda, first Nigerian athlete who ruled the world to win Mr Olympia

    MEET Samson Dauda, first Nigerian athlete who ruled the world to win Mr Olympia

    Nigerian-born United Kingdom (UK) bobybuilder, Samson Dauda has claimed the 2024 Mr. Olympia.

    Dauda won the competition over the weekend at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada, United States (US).

    Meet Samson Dauda, first Nigerian athlete to win Mr Olympia
    The victory has seen him emerge as the first athlete of Nigerian origin to achieve the feat in the history of the sport, after securing the third position last year.

    However, Iranian bodybuilder, Hadi Choopan finished as runner-up, while American Derek Lunsford finished in third place.

    The Mr. Olympia title is awarded annually to the winner of the open division professional men’s bodybuilding competition at the Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend, endorsed by the International Fitness and BodyBuilding Federation (IFBB) Professional League.

    Who is Samson Dauda?
    Samson Dauda, born on March 11, 1992, has made a name for himself in the world of bodybuilding, achieving widespread recognition for his accomplishments.

    Known as the “Nigerian Lion,” Dauda has built a strong social media presence, amassing nearly 1 million followers, where he shares fitness tips and advice with his fans.

    Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Dauda moved to the UK as a teenager. While he initially played rugby, his teammates encouraged him to pursue bodybuilding, leading him to compete in his first competition in 2014.

    Now, Dauda has reached the pinnacle of the sport, winning its most prestigious title, made famous by icons like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronnie Coleman, in the competition’s 60th year.

    After finishing third in Mr. Olympia last year, Samson continues to rise in the bodybuilding world. He currently lives in the UK with his wife, Marlena, and their dog, Cerberus.

  • Asaba 2022: Athlete slumps, dislocate wrist, ruled out of event

    Asaba 2022: Athlete slumps, dislocate wrist, ruled out of event

    A taekwondo athlete, Daniel Otunoye, representing team Zamfara has been ruled out of the National Sports Festival presently holding in Asaba the Delta state capital after he slumped few minutes before his fight with his Bayelsa opponent.

    Otunoye had already gotten ready to slug it out with his opponent Yiazibe Torukuru from Bayelsa when suddenly he slumped at the multipurpose indoor sports hall of the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba.

    Although he immediately received attention from the medical personnel on the ground and later rushed to the hospital for recuperation, Otunoye was eventually ruled out of the competition on medical grounds.

    Otunoye had fought earlier in the day and was a favourite to make the final before his collapse ended the championship for him.

    He was already on the fight arena facing off against his opponent but fell before the opening bell was rung.

    According to the health doctor in charge of the National Sports Festival, Dr. Anthony Enebe, the athlete’s condition isn’t so bad but we have to rule him out to avoid complicating it.

    “The guy (Otunoye) is okay now, he dislocated his right wrist and is a known asthmatic patient, but the asthma isn’t so bad that he can’t compete in an event like this,” Enebe said.

    “I think the dislocation from an earlier bout was what caused him to collapse and needed to be taken out of the fight, but he is fine now.”

    Enebe added that the young athlete’s fight would not be postponed. Instead, Otunoye forfeited the bout, as his condition ruled him out of the rest of the festival.

    “He can no longer make an appearance in this festival. The injury marks the end of the competition for him,” Enebe said.

    One of Otunoye’s teammates, Sherifah Hassan, who was at the indoor hall when he collapsed, told our correspondent what happened on the mat.

    “He didn’t complain about any pains before the fight, his opponent landed a back leg kick on his hand and as soon as it landed, he went down and started shaking,” Hassan, who checked on Otunoye at the medical centre, said.

    “After a few seconds, he suddenly went still and we were scared that he was dead. Our fears heightened because the medical personnel kept touching his wrist and we thought they were checking his pulse, not knowing it was dislocated.

    “I am glad to hear that he is okay now, although I am sad about the injury because I really feel he had a very good chance of winning the gold medal,” she said.

    Otunoye’s opponent will move to the next round of the event.

  • Just In: Amusan listed in Women’s Athlete of the Year award

    Just In: Amusan listed in Women’s Athlete of the Year award

    World Athletics on Wednesday confirmed a list of 10 nominees for the Women’s World Athlete of the Year award, with Nigeria’s golden girl Tobi Amusan one of the nominees.

    The confirmation signaled the beginning of the voting process for the 2022 World Athletes of the Year ahead of the World Athletics Awards 2022.

    The 10 athletes were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics.

    World 100 metres hurdles champion Amusan set a world record of 12.12 seconds earlier this year, and won the Diamond League, Commonwealth and African titles.

    She has been picked alongside Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, who is the world 100m champion after claiming a fifth gold medal in the event.

    Fraser-Pryce is also the Diamond League 100m champion and has a world-leading 10.62 among her record seven sub-10.70 100m races of the season.

    Others on the nominees list include Chase Ealey of the U.S., the world shot put champion and a world indoor shot put silver medallist.

    She is the Diamond League shot put champion, with a world-leading 20.51m.

    Peru’s Kimberly Garcia, the world 20km race walk champion who won Peru’s first-ever World Athletics Championships medal, is also on the list.

    There is also Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the world 200m champion and Diamond League 200m champion, and ran a world-leading 21.45 to move to second on the world all-time list

    Faith Kipyegon of Kenya is also one of the nomineees, being a world 1500m champion and Diamond League 1500m champion.

    She ran a world-leading Kenyan record of 3:50.37, just three tenths of a second off the world record

    Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who is the world indoor high jump champion and world high jump silver medallist, as well as being a European high jump champion, equally on the list.

    She jumped a world-leading 2.05m, equalling the outdoor national best.

    Sydney McLaughlin of the U.S. also made the list, with her profile as world 400m hurdles and 4x400m champion.

    She broke the world 400m hurdles record with 51.41 at the US Championships, and further improved the world record to 50.68 to win the world title.

    World 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of Bahamas is equally in contention, brandishing the profile of being world indoor 400m champion and NACAC 400m champion.

    Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas, the world indoor and outdoor triple jump champion and Diamond League triple jump champion, completes the list, after improving her world record to 15.74m in Belgrade.

    In what is another memorable year for the sport, the nominations reflect some of the standout performances achieved at the World Athletics Championships held in Oregon in July.

    The World Athletics Indoor Championships held earlier in Belgrade was another standout event, alongside several one-day meeting circuits and other events around the world.

    A three-way voting process will determine the finalists, with the World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family casting their votes by email.

    Fans can vote online via the World Athletics social media platforms.

    Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube this week, with a “like” on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or a retweet on Twitter counting as one vote.

    The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50 percent of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25 percent of the final result.

    Voting for the World Athletes of the Year closes at midnight on Oct. 31.

    At the conclusion of the voting process, five women and five men finalists will be announced by World Athletics.

    The winners will be revealed on World Athletics’ social media platforms in early December, while further information about the World Athletics Awards 2022 will be announced in the coming weeks.

  • Commonwealth Games: Two of missing Sri Lankans traced, one still missing

    Commonwealth Games: Two of missing Sri Lankans traced, one still missing

    A Sri Lankan athlete and official who went missing during the ongoing Commonwealth Games have been traced, but a third remains missing, a Sports Ministry official said on Thursday.

    The tracing of the two members of the contingent has been conveyed to the Sri Lankan officials by West Midlands Police overseeing the Birmingham area where the Games are being held.

    “Both have been spoken to and are safe and well, and so they are no longer being treated as missing people”, a statement by the West Midlands Police said.

    The two persons traced are a female judo athlete, Chamila Dilani, and a team manager, Asela de Silva, who were among a contingent of 161 sportspersons and officials from Sri Lanka.

    However a third person, wrestler Sanith Chathuranga, still remains missing.

    Soon after the disappearance all passports of the entire contingent had been collected as a precaution, the official said.

    Sri Lanka have so far won a silver medal and two bronze medals at the Games in Birmingham.

    Sri Lanka are currently trying to overcome an economic crisis which led to fuel, gas, food and medicine shortages.

  • Blessing Okagbare celebrates father at 80

    Blessing Okagbare celebrates father at 80

    Nigerian track and field athlete, Blessing Okagbare, on Monday, hailed her father as he turned 80-year-old.

    Okagbare posted on her Twitter: “Happy 80th Birthday PA. They sure don’t make men like you anymore. You are a good man/ father and I love you dearly.

    “Thank you for being the good man and friend that you are. May the good Lord continue to keep you. Happy Birthday Papa.”

    Okagbare was raised by her father who was a wholesale trader in Benin City area of Edo State, after her parents separated when she was little.

    She also holds the Commonwealth Games 100 Women record for the fastest time in 10.85 seconds.

    Her 100 best record of 10.79 made her the record holder of African history for the event until Murielle Ahouré closed it in 2016.

    The 33-year-old is the current African record holder in the 200 meters with a speed of 22.04 seconds in 2018.

    She was Africa’s 100m long jump in 2010. She also won awards at the All Africa Games, IAAF Continental Cup and World Relays

    In February 2022, the Athletics Integrity Unit, AIU, handed her a 10-year ban for doping violations.

  • Doha 2019: Athlete receives ram gift for winning medal

    Doha 2019: Athlete receives ram gift for winning medal

    Burkina Faso’s triple jumper, Fabrice Zango, was rewarded with a ram for being the first athlete from his country to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships.

    The athlete, who posted a picture of the ram’s presentation on his Facebook page, claimed bronze at the athletics event.

    Zango said the ram was given to him by the King of Mossi people, Naba Baongo, on Monday.

    He emerged third with a distance of 17.66m at the just-concluded event in Doha –where he also broke his African record of 17.58m–behind USA’s Christian Taylor, who won a fourth title with an effort of 17.92m, and Will Claye who got 17.74m.

    In Rabat at the 2019 African Games, Zango’s leap of 16.88m was sufficient for gold, becoming the first Burkinabe man to win an athletics title at the continental event.

    Speaking about his win, Zango said he was delighted to win Burkina Faso’s world athletics medal, adding, “I hope many medals will follow.”

  • Kenyan athlete wins race despite losing shoe

    Kenyan runner Conseslus Kipruto defied the early setback of losing a shoe to win the 3000m men’s steeplechase race in the IAAF Diamond League in Zurich, Switzerland.

    Just after coming round a bend, his left shoe flew off his foot and over the track but he didn’t stop.

    “That was a mess. But it motivated me to fight as hard as I could, so the race went well,” he said afterwards.

    Kipruto is the reigning Olympic and World steeplechase champion.

    He outsprinted Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali in the final few strides after clearing the final hurdle in second place.

    “I am injured because I lost my left shoe,” he said after finishing the race.

    He later tweeted: “It was hard and painful to run without another shoe, but I just had strong spirit to never give up, the crowd was amazing and I keep going to the winning.”

    After the race, the Kenyan athlete limped off the track, as he waved to the crowd in Zurich.Presentational white space

    This is not the first time an athlete has lost a shoe and gone on to win the race.

    In 2011, Ethiopian Dejen Gebremeskel won the men’s 3000m race in the Boston Indoor Games, after losing his shoe in the first lap. He beat British athlete Mo Farah.

    In 2015, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin marathon even though his insole had come loose and was hanging out from his shoe.

    BBC

  • Nigerian athlete sponsors self to 5th International Archery Grand Prix in Cote D’Ivoire, wins three medals [Photos]

    Nigerian athlete sponsors self to 5th International Archery Grand Prix in Cote D’Ivoire, wins three medals [Photos]

    Driven by his love for his country and passion for the sport, a Nigerian, Ladi Alapini sponsored himself to the 5th International Archery Grand Prix held recently in Cote D’Ivoire and brought three medals back home.

    Alapini, a refined athletic was based in the United Kingdom until November 2017 when he returned home with the hopes of scouting for young Nigerians who might be interested in Archery.

     

    He later collaborated with Pinefield School, Lekki, Lagos to establish the “Lekki Archers Club.”

    Speaking in an exclusive interview with TheNewsGuru.com on Sunday, Alapini highlighted with nostalgia how he discovered the 5th International Archery Grand Prix in Cote D’Ivoire and his immediate willingness to represent Nigeria using his financial resources.

    In his words: “I came back home from the UK in Nov 2017, to introduce Archery to the Nigerian Youths, by setting up An Archery Club “Lekki Archers Club” in partnership with Pinefield School in Lekki.

     

    We have just graduated the 1st sets of Archers on 27th March, 2018.

    In the cause of training new Archers, an opportunity came up, which i quickly grabbed.

    I discovered that Cote D’Ivoire was going to have their 5th International Archery Grand Prix, which means they will be inviting other African countries, especially the West African Countries.

    I contacted the Nigerian Archery Federation and asked for their approval and support for us to compete in the championship, technically we got their approval and support, but financial support was a major challenge for the Federation,” Alapini explained.

    However, patriotic Alapini wasn’t discouraged when the Federation refused him their financial support. He raised funds and at the risk of his live traveled by road with two other archers to Cote d’Ivoire. No official accompanied them to the competition.

    The competition at at Cote D’Ivoire had six categories;

    1. 50 Metres Men (Individual)
    2. 50 Metres Ladies (Individual)
    3. 50 Metres Team
    4. 70 Metres Men (Individual)
    5. 70 Metres Ladies (Individual)
    6. 70 Metres Team.

    “However, due to financial constraints and bureaucracy in government sector, we could not attend the competition with any of the lady Archers and officials. Not going with any official had a serious effect on us in the area officiating as we later discovered,” Alapini said regretfully.

    Giving account of what transpired on the field, Alapini said: “In the 50 Metres individual (men) three of us represented Nigeria, in the eliminating round, I made it to the first three, meaning I automatically qualified for Quarter-final, the other two however could not. From Quaver-final, I made it through to Semi-final.

    For both team events in 50 & 70 Metres we (Nigeria) came 2nd position in both.

    We also got a medal for most dogged athlete and best fair play Archers.

    Elated Alapini explained that despite the challenges the outing was impressive and also called on government to invest heavily in sports and it has a way of turning the fortune of the country around for good.

    “The outing was very impressive for me, i beat my Personal Best (PB) at both distances, had a very competitive challenge and for my first time representing Nigeria in an international competition and coming back home with three medals is a very great achievement for me and the team and it will also boost the game of Archery in Nigeria,” Alapini explained.

  • Unbelievable! South African female athlete marries another female

    Caster Semenya South African 800m athlete and long-time partner, Violet Raseboya have officially tied the knot. Semenya and Raseboya were the trending issue on Twitter this Saturday when pictures of their wedding ceremony flooded the internet

    Semenya, shot to stardom in 2009 when she won gold in the women’s 800m at the IAAF’s World Championships in Berlin. After then, she was subjected to gender testing. She was cleared and won the silver medal at the 2011 World Championship in Daegu as well as silver at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

    In April 2016, a part of her preparation for the Rio Olympics, she became the first person to claim the 400m, 800m and 1500m titles at the South African National Championships.