As part of its plans to prepare athletes for competitions in 2017, the Track and Field Coaches Association of Nigeria (TAFCAN), will organise “TAFCAN Coaches Over Distance Race’’.
The race which will be organised by the Lagos State Chapter of TAFCAN is scheduled for Jan. 27 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
Abiodun Ibrahim, the Public Relations Officer of Lagos State TAFCAN, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos that nine events would be featured at the competition.
The events are 500m, 5,000m, one mile, 300m, overweight shot put throw, overweight hammer throw, seven stride long jump, 4x800m and 4x200m.
Ibrahim said that the competition was aimed at preparing the athletes for the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) seasons.
“Since the IAAF calendar for the year is out, we felt that we should start preparing our athletes before AFN and IAAF start their seasons.
“We want to get Lagos athletes and athletes from other states who are interested in competition mood before the season begins,’’ he said.
He also appealed to corporate organisations and philanthropists to come to the aid of the young athletes who hope to represent the country in future.
“We have been organising the competition from our widows’ might, we have tried to get sponsors but our effort has not yielded positive results.
“We even wanted to cancel the Over Distance race because of logistics but it would not be fair to the athletes.
“We are trying to discover and groom future champions for the country but funding is not easy and we do not want to dash their hopes,’’ he said.
Ibrahim added that no fewer than 100 athletes were expected from Lagos State and states that have indicated interest. (NAN)
MJO/PDE