Fortune has smiled on young Nigerian junior Olympic triple jump athlete, Ineh Oritsemeyiwa, with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare providing his ticket to pursue further studies side by side with sports, through scholarship in the United States.
The minister facilitated his trip after two failed efforts at securing visa and ticket, due to financial constraints.
Speaking when the athlete paid the minister a thank you and farewell visit in his office, in Abuja, Dare urged him to be a good ambassador of Nigeria by staying focused as he prepares for the Olympics in Tokyo.
Oritsemeyiwa, born on March 17, 2001, represented Nigeria in triple and long jump at the Youths Olympics in Argentina in 2018, where he won silver.
He competed at the Africa region ll games in Ghana, where he won a gold medal in triple jump boys and a silver medal in the long jump. He also competed at the 2018 National trials in Abuja, where he won both long jump and triple jump. He also represented Nigeria in the long jump and triple jump at the 2018 Africa youth Games in Algiers, Algeria, where he clinched a gold medal in the triple jump with a distance of 16:22m, an Africa youth record, though not yet rectified. He also won a silver medal in the long jump with a distance of 7:36m.
Also, in 2018, he competed at the Africa Senior Championship in Athletics Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria, where he finished seventh overall with a distance of 16:09m.