The Second Vice President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Akuchukwu Aghazu, has introduced a performance-based reward scheme to motivate home-based athletes ahead of the Commonwealth Games Trials in Lagos next weekend.
Aghazu unveiled the Ben Aghazu Prize for Excellence in Athletics in honour of her late father, Ben Aghazu. The initiative covers the men’s and women’s 100m, 200m, 400m, 1500m and 5000m events, as well as the long jump and javelin.
Under the scheme, athletes who achieve predetermined performance standards in the 14 events at the trials, scheduled for 20 to 22 June in Lagos, will receive N100,000 each.
She also announced an Excellence in Athletics Award for coaches, with one male and one female coach set to be recognised.
‘The intention is to support and encourage our home-based athletes and outstanding coaches’, Aghazu said while unveiling the reward scheme.
President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Chief Tonobok Okowa, welcomed the initiative, describing it as a commendable gesture that would inspire athletes to raise their performance levels at the crucial trials.
‘I am excited by this thoughtful initiative from our Second Vice President, Aku Aghazu. This is the kind of support that motivates our home-based athletes to give their very best during these all-important Commonwealth Games Trials’, said Okowa, who is also the Senior Vice President of the Confederation of African Athletics.
For athletes based in Nigeria, the qualifying standard for the men’s 100m is 10.60 seconds, while the women’s entry standard is 11.55 seconds. The qualifying marks for the 200m are 21.85 seconds for men and 23.75 seconds for women, while the standards for the 400m are 48.50 seconds and 54.50 seconds respectively.
In the 1500m, athletes must run 3:50.00 for men and 4:20.00 for women to claim the prize, while the qualifying standards for the 5000m are 14:00.00 and 17:50.00 respectively.
Field event athletes have also been included in the incentive package. Male long jumpers must record a distance of 7.90m, while female athletes are required to jump 6.50m. In the javelin throw, the targets are 81m for men and 55m for women.
