LAGOS – Some swimmers at the ongoing Lagos State Secondary Schools Sports Festival in Lagos on Thursday attributed their poor performance to lack of experience.
They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, venue of the event that some of them did not know how to flap their feet and move their hands.
Oladunjoye Jackson, 15, a student of Community Junior High School, Alapere, Ketu, said the absence of adequate training facilities made it difficult for him to perform creditably.
“There is no single swimming pool in my area and the Agboyi River that is close to me is not good enough for anyone to use it for swimming practice.
“My coach only takes us out for training once a month, but most times we refuse to train with him because the river is not clean enough,’’ he said.
Oluwamotito John, 11, also a student of the same school blamed poor facilities for their poor performance.
“There is no way I can swim well in this competition when there are no good facilities for me train with,’’ he said.
Israelo Iwajomo, 13, of Christ Arrival School, Alapere, Ketu, said that a lack of access to swimming pool contributed to his poor performance.
For 15-year-old Adeposi Ogungbure, he was not trained on flapping of feet and movement of hands, leading to his poor performance.
Omope Eniola, Head Coach, Lagos State Swimming Association, said the general poor performance of some swimmers at the competition was due to inadequate facilities in their schools or neighbourhood.
She said that some of the swimmers almost got drowned during the warm-up exercises.
“What we normally do is to get the best among them, train and encourage them to participate favourably in competitions.
“We cannot allow them to train in the pool used for the competition because it is eight feet deep,’’ Eniola said. (NAN)
- Latest
- Trending
