Nigerian male sprinter, Olukunle Alaba Akintola had to settle for a silver medal in the male 100m final of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, sports247.ng gathered.
Despite all initial forecasts tipping him to grab gold, Akintola fell short when it mattered most, as he ran 10.24 seconds to finish second behind South Africa’s Luke Davies, while Seiryo Ikeda raced to third place.
In contrast with all expectations from Akintola, Davies proved to be the fastest runner over the stages of the 100m, as he crossed the finish line in 10.56 seconds in the first and in the second he ran 10.15 seconds.
In reaction to Akintola’s feat, among others, a cross-section of Nigerian track and field icons took to their social media handles with lofty words.
Nigeria’s 1994 Commonwealth Games women 100m gold medalist, Mary Onyali stated: “Great job, dear. Deserved to win;” while an athletics coach, Saheed Akinpelu wrote: “Congratulations. More win.”
On his part, Himah Charles wrote: “The festival’s sprints is getting a new look from the youth boys and girls.
“Akintola, from 10.76 secs to 10.24 secs. Congrats guys, nice work from the team. Sugar industry in my heart.”
