By Modupe Oremule
Lagos – The two athletes discovered at the maiden Top Sprinter Competition and awarded scholarships by ARCO Petroleum Group, say the support of corporate organisations was key to athletes’ development.
They made the assertion while thanking the company for the gesture at a news conference organised by Making of Champions (MOC) on Monday in Lagos.
Making of Champions is a Lagos-based Athletics Consulting firm, founded to discover athletes from the grassroots who will be groomed to become Olympic champions, especially the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan.
The conference was to herald the 2nd Top Sprinter Competition and the Lagos Relays scheduled for Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.
The Lagos State Government is a major partner in the MOC Top Sprinter Competition.
One of the recipients, Joy Udo-Gabriel, who was crowned the fastest school girl in Lagos State in 2015, said that combining education with sports had been made easy with the support.
“Having a scholarship from ARCO has taken me further in actualising my dream. It has even made education and sports easy for me.
“I do not have to worry about feeding and accommodation while in school. I just need to be focused, I appreciate MOC for discovering me,’’ the 17-year-old 100m sprinter said.
Udo-Gabriel is a diploma student at the University of Lagos.
For the other recipient, 18-year-old Jeremiah Jakpa, who is awaiting admission into the University of Port Harcourt, the scholarship will change his life while in school.
He added that unnecessary pressure from funds for schooling and training would be taken off him.
“MOC and ARCO have changed my life in terms of schooling; the pressure will be less on me because I don’t have to think about accommodation and feeding allowance.
“This will make me to be focused, it will just be left for me to show Nigerians that I have got the talent,’’ the 200m sprinter said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the support from ARCO Group covers the athletes’ tuition, accommodation, nutrition, training and competition costs.
The organisation will support the athletes for four years while they study in universities in Nigeria and preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Both athletes were discovered at the 2015 Top Sprinter competition in Benin.
The 2016 edition which will have no fewer than 700 athletes is being sponsored by ARCO Group, Lucozade Sports, Esteem Studio and Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria.
Udo-Gabriel and Jakpa are the first two of eight MOC athletes to be awarded the student-athlete scholarships.
The other six shortlisted are Eserogehene Oguma, Ifunanya Muoghalu, Chiamaka Egbochinam, Chibuike Egbochinam, Peter Edwin and Onengi Ikoko on the basis that they maintain their status as University or Secondary School Students in Nigeria.
However, Bambo Akanni, the CEO of MOC, said he was excited about the search for the Tokyo 2020 Olympians.