Former African record holder in the women’s 100m, a bronze medalist in 1992 Barcelona Olympics in 4x100m women’s relay, Mary Onyali- Omagbemi has vowed to help produce winners in the future after expressing disappointment in Nigeria’s quest to win the women’s 100m in the just concluded All Africa Games (AAG) in Congo Brazzaville.
Onyali
disclosed this in a chat with SportingLife at the Sheraton Hotels Abuja where she
received an award alongside her colleagues Christy Opara-Thompson, Chioma
Ajunwa, young and upcoming athlete Ese Brume and others by FABPAN to appreciate
Nigerians and especially women who are doing well in sports and also to have a
way of playing a part in the development of sports from the grassroots’ level.
“Honestly
I am not happy about Nigeria’s failure to win the women and men’s 100m at
the just concluded All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville. It was a shock to me
when I watched the women’s 100m and a Nigerian is not in the top three. It was
very disheartening. A lot happened that I can’t say right now.
“I can
assure you that as from this moment I am going to take full charge of the
situation. My position as Chairperson Women in sports is to ensure that this
failure of Nigerian women athletes to win 100m in the All Africa Games will
never happen again. There are plans and programmes to achieve this but I won’t
let the cat out for now”, Onyali, a former Special Assistant on Technical
Matters to former Director General of the National Sports Commission, Gbenga
Elegbeleye disclosed.
She also
clamoured for equal treatment between men and women in sports and decried a
situation when men smile home with better prize packages as compared with women
while competing in the same category of sporting events.
“Being
the Chairperson of Women and Sports which was inaugurated this year, I am going
to take that charge whole head. Truly all fingers are not equal but when it
comes to sports we all sweat the same way and we all bleed the same way and we
all feel the pains the same way so we should be treated equally regardless of
gender”, Onyali charged.
She also
encouraged women in sports to take education very serious and go for
administrative courses so that they can be involved in sports administration
too. the nation
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