By Peter Amine

Team Bayelsa has maintained its lead on the medals table at the ongoing National Sports Festival (NSF) in Ogun.

Bayelsa garnered 30 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals five days into the festival to maintain a comfortable lead.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the official medals table of the NSF tagged ‘Gateway Games 2024’ indicated that Delta is second with 21 gold, nine silver and 26 bronze medals.

The table also showed that Rivers is third with 11 gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze medals.

Team Oyo occupies the fourth position with 10 gold, eight silver and 13 bronze medals, while Lagos completes the first five with nine gold, nine silver and 18 bronze.

A total of 420 medals have so far been won by states participating in the sports fiesta.

The NSF is a biennial multi-sport event organised by the Federal Government.

It brings together athletes from all 36 states and the FCT to compete in various sports, promoting national unity, sportsmanship, and excellence across Nigeria.

STATE TEAM GOLD. SILVER BRONZE TOTAL

Bayelsa 30 12 13 55

Delta 21 9 26 56

Rivers 11 10 10 31

Oyo 10 8 13 31

Lagos 9 9 18 36

Ogun 8 12 13 33

Osun 8 1 1 10

Edo 7 29 25 61

Akwa Ibom 5 1 2 8

Plateau 3 2 6 11

Cross River 3 1 1 5

Abia 2 3 12 17

Invited United Athelete (IJA) 2 3 1 6

Anambra 1 4 2 7

Imo 1 2 6 9

Nasarawa 1 1 4 6

Kano 0 5 6 11

FCT 0 2 5 7

Niger 0 2 0 2

Ekiti 0 1 3 4

Kwara 0 1 3 4

Ondo 0 1 2 3

Bauchi 0 1 0 1

Kaduna 0 1 0 1

Benue 0 0 5 5

TOTAL 122   121   177  420

(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Joseph Edeh

By Olayinka Owolewa/Joy Akinsanya

Kolade Otunla, representing Ogun, may have shattered the National Sports Festival record in the men’s 100m backstroke event.

Otunla’s impressive time of 1:02.41 seconds not only secured the gold medal but also broke the previous record set by Ebarakumo Dino of Rivers in 2018, which stood at 1:04.61 seconds.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to set the record straight, Chinoye Aliyu, President, Nigeria Aquatics Federation (NAF), said she will confirm the new record with the technical committee of the federation on Thursday.

Otunla attributed his success to hard work and his coach’s guidance.

“I wish to be the Olympic champion, and I am working towards it,” Otunla said in a post-event interview.

“Swimming is not about rushing or breaking out so hard. Just make sure you stay on your pace,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Omolola Tobiloba won gold in the women’s 800m freestyle event with a time of 10:22:32sec, marking Ogun’s first-ever gold medal in swimming.

Tobiloba’s victory becomes the first ever gold medal for the state in swimming events.

While Tobiloba won the gold medal, Dorcas Oka of Team Bayelsa came second with a time of 10:58:50sec, just as Deborah Opochini of Delta State won bronze with a time of 11:04:85sec.

Team Lagos’s Oluwatobiloba Nedd took the fourth position with a time of 12.05.70sec, while Tofunmi Ibidapo of Team Oyo finished fifth with a time of 12:21:40sec. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Joseph Edeh

By Victor Okoye

Team FCT made a promising impression on Wednesday at the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival (NSF), amassing five medals.

The biennial multi-sport event, themed “the Gateway Games,” is taking place at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta, Ogun, with athletes from all 36 states and the FCT vying for national honors.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Team FCT won one gold, two silver and two bronze medals in weightlifting, taekwondo, and the traditional game of Ayo.

FCT’s medal campaign was spearheaded by weightlifter Esther Clement, who delivered an impressive performance to claim a silver and a bronze in her category.

An additional bronze in weightlifting brought the tally in the discipline to three.

In traditional sports, FCT struck gold with a standout victory in Ayo, while a hard-fought bronze medal in taekwondo added to the growing list of accolades for the capital’s team.

FCT Sports Director, Luka Istefanus, expressed optimism in the ability of the team to excel beyond expectations at the ongoing festival.

“I believe the team will continue to add to its medal count as the competition intensifies.

“We are participating in about 22 sports at the ongoing festival, including football, handball, basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball, para powerlifting, taekwondo, traditional sports, to mention a few.

“This will be my last sports festival, and I am hoping to sign off with a good representation and outing.

“At the last NSF in Asaba, Team FCT finished 9th position, even though we had always finished 7th at the last two previous editions.

“Before I took over at the helms of affairs, we were finishing 16th and 17th on the log. In fact, our best ever finish at that time was 13th position.

“But, since I came in, we have made some reasonable progress, even though we still have a lot of challenges confronting us,” he said.

He said that there was the need to encourage the players so as to boost their morale.

He revealed that the FCT athletes do not receive monthly stipends or allowances compared to their counterparts in other states who were always taken care of.

“In fact, this was what affected our performance in Asaba, as most of our athletes were pulled out of the team by their parents because they were unhappy.

“So, they refused to allow them to go with us to Asaba, and we had to go with what we had. In fact, all my gold medalists had gone to register with other states, but we still managed to finish 9th last year.

“We are again hopeful this year that even though we didn’t have the best of preparations, we can still go on to achieve something,” he said.

NAN reports that the festival, which began on May 16, will end on May 30. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Emmanuel Afonne