Nigerian athletes must avoid ‘bad feeding habit’ to win medals in Rio, says AFN

As Nigerian athletes continue their preparation towards Rio 2016 Olympics Games, a board member of the Athletics Federation of Nigerian (AFN), Dr. Ken Anugweje has advised that the athletes must keep to scientific procedures, especially in their feeding to be able to win medals.

Nigeria athletes only made up the numbers at the last Olympics in London and Anugweje, who is over seeing AFN camp at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, says things would change for better in Rio, Brazil this summer.

He described as ‘laughable’ insinuations in some quarters that Nigerian athletes training at the AFN High Performance Centre in Port Harcourt for the Rio Olympics are fast losing weight due to poor welfare.

“It is either those making such rumour are enemies of Nigerian athletics or they don’t know anything regarding the scientific approach to athletics,” Anugweje said.

He asked: “Should an athlete get fatter while preparing for Olympics Games? Is athletics the same as weightlifting or sumo wrestling? People just say things just because they want to be noticed. We are following all scientific procedures regarding nutrition for our athletes.

“In the past, you see Nigerian athletes packing up to five or six apples while having breakfast with their foreign counterparts during competitions. Such practice is not acceptable any more because it had not benefited us in anyway.

“Athletes all over the World are slim people. Our feeding arrangement here is well monitored and is done in accordance with scientific procedures. Our aim is to present a medal winning team in Rio, he stated.

Last week, the athletes have their fitness level tested in Over Distance competition in Port Harcourt.
The athletes who have been in camp at the University of Port Harcourt High Performance Centre and others who have been training on their own competed in the one-day meet arranged by the AFN.