And the BATTLE begins
By BEN MEMULETIWON, Athens
Friday, August 13, 2004

In the next three weeks, world’s attention will shift from the presidential election campaigns in America as Athens, Greece, becomes the melting pot for the best legs in the world.
The battle in Greece is not about who governs the United States of America but about who rules the entire world when the 28th Olympia comes to a close on August 29.

Will America continue to dictate the pace in global sports? Who clinches the soccer gold in the absence of Cameroon, the defending champions? Will Nigeria realise her dream of winning 10 gold medals? How many athletes will run foul of banned drugs or who among the known stars will spike their system with cocktail of performance-enhancing drugs like Ben Johnson did at the Seoul Olympics in 1988? So many questions which will be answered on the field and tartan tracks in Athens.

After 2,780 years since the Games started, the International Olympic Committee, (IOC), felt it was high time the Games went back to its root. And starting from today, the grass and tracks will have to give way to hard studs and spikes.

As the world stay glued to their television sets yelling, clapping and cheering their heroes, Nigerians will also hope that the 85 athletes flying our national flag will soar higher and higher into the azure. Just as it was in the Atlanta ’96 Games.

Before leaving Nigeria for their training tour of Europe – Germany, Bulgaria – and Cuba, some of the athletes had vowed to give good account of themselves, promising to give America a fight for the top position if the championship is devoid of dirty drug cheat.

"Nobody is scared of the Americans," 100m and 4 x 100m relay hopeful, Endurance Ojokolo, said. "We had the best preparation and we’re in our right frame of mind to weather the storm. We may not be able to clinch 10 gold medals as proposed, but this, certainly, will be Nigeria’s best participation at the Games since it started."

Deji Aliu also shared Endurance’s optimism, saying that anything could happen in Athens.
"As for me, I will push hard to qualify for the 100m final. Once that’s achieved, anything could happen. I’m sure we will do well. The entire team is like a family and in such a high spirit. We shall all lift Nigeria’s image at the Games. We won’t disgrace Nigerians."

Sports Minister, Col Musa Mohammed, (rtd), also promised, before leaving Nigeria to join the athletes in Athens, that if motivation was what the athletes needed to do well, then they would not lack anything.

The Minister believes that Nigeria has come of age in the Olympic family, adding that the time has come for the country to be seen as a hot contender in the race to rule the world in sports.
Team Nigeria Manager, Chief Patrick Ekeji, who jetted out Wednesday night, told Daily Sunsport that "the world would be stunned by our performance at the Games."

Nigeria’s medal hope, however, lies on how well prepared are our sprinters – Deji Aliu who is No.11 in the world, Uche Emedolu; No. 10, Ojokolo and Mary Onyali in 100m and 200m.
If Team Nigeria’s German coordinator, Prof. Harald Dubberke, should be taken as a man with the power of clairvoyance, then Nigerians can start to roll out the drums in the 4 x 100m relay male and female.

There are other medal hopefuls in weightlifting as Coach Panov said the two female lifters are within medal rage but the Bulgarian coach wouldn’t know the colour of the medal.
But the snag is that Emedolu and Aliu may need the speed of light to dust Jamaican Asafa Powel, Maurice Greene of the United States of America and Justin Gatlin also of USA in the 100m.

Above all, the old axiom that Olympic is not to win but just to participate may not hold as every nation will have to engage in a fierce battle to come tops. Over 10,000 athletes will declare war on themselves. And at the end, only a few will be decorated with gold, silver and broze.
So, let’s hope that Nigerian athletes our heroes, will mount the podium and be decorated. Let’s hope our flag is raised high and our anthem sung severally! Did anybody say amen?