The newly crowned African 400-metre champion, Chidi Okezie, has described his triumph as incredible and a dream come true.
He said following his workout regimen religiously and seeing results are the keys to his success, Persecondnews reports.
In the final of the 13th African Games, Okezie, a two-time 400-metre African bronze medalist, ran a personal best time of 45.06 seconds to win gold for Team Nigeria.
Samukonga Muzala of Zambia finished in second place with a time of 45.37 seconds, and Diouf Cheik Tidiane of Senegal finished in third place with a time of 45.49 seconds.
“It feels amazing, very sensational; words cannot explain it.
“I really worked hard with my coach in the U.S. and followed his instructions, and I followed a game plan that worked,’’ Okezie said.
The new African champion said he knew the race would be tight, with strong competitors, and “I gave my all to win the race’’.
Okezie said that his focus after the African Games was to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.
“I need to run 45 seconds flat so that I am close to meeting the qualifying time. When I get back to the U.S., I will work with my coach to develop a plan that will make me qualify for the Olympic Games,’’ he said.
He said African athletes could compete favorably with others in Europe and America,’’ but they need the resources to do that very well.
“A lot of people out here do not have the resources like in America and Europe.
“Once they have the resources, they can compete against any athlete. After all, we return at the same time as them, Okezie said.
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