Follow Us on Google News
Follow Us on Google Discover
Newly-crowned Nigeria’s fastest man, Favour Oghenetejiri Ashe, has revealed some of the steps he took to revive his career after he fell below par at the last Africa Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, Ghana.
The sprinter, who had seen stormy days and rough patches in recent times, was a shadow of himself at the African Championships in Accra, Ghana. But running against tested sprinters on the final day of the Commonwealth Games National Trials at YABATECH in Lagos, Ashe bounced back to reckoning.
The crowd stood up for him, first when he eased to a 9.98-second finish in the semifinals, and in the final, he separated himself from the pack and coasted home to finish at 9.93seconds with a legit wind of 0.5.
The performance on Tuesday in Lagos overshadowed his 2024 personal best of 9.94seconds. It was his second national title.
An excited Ashe revealed in a post-race interview with journalists that he suffered depression after he failed to get a single medal in Accra.
“After the African Championships in Ghana, I was depressed. I read some of the comments with some people saying Ashe is washed and finished. I decided to lock in for one month because I know what I am capable of.”
Ashe revealed that “these past two years have been rough. I didn’t get my visa back to the U.S. The fans didn’t know that. I was in Nigeria training. Because of the pressure, I went to Qatar, not because of the money but because I wanted to free myself again. I really trained in Qatar.
“So this year, someone I respect so much called me to come back to Nigeria. I have to make that decision. Because I knew if I came back to Nigeria, I would be locked in, disciplined, and I would get the job done. So I am happy with my performance.”
On the kind of environment he needs to be at his best, Ashe said: “To be honest, I really need a good training facility. Since I came to Nigeria, I haven’t got that. The gym, store, but I just keep on using what I see. I just keep on tossing the process. So, I need good preparation for the Commonwealth Games.”
