For athletes and coaches, the just-concluded 2nd Niger Delta Games in Benin City, Edo State, provided a glimpse into the future of Nigerian track and field.
 
Five days of keenly contested events at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, ended on Thursday, February 26.
 
For the first time since 2002, the host, Team Edo, topped the medals table of any national sports fiesta with 52 gold medals.
 
For some officials, the main talking point of the Games is centred on the athletic events, especially the final day of the contest.
 
From Day One, when the 100m was decided to the last day of the relay spectacle, it was fireworks all through and justifiably so, because the Niger Delta area is a forest of athletic talents, and over the years has produced some of Nigeria’s best in local and international track and field contests.
 
Team Delta dominated the athletics event in Benin City in the face of the strong challenge from Edo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States.
  
Delta State athletes won 13 gold medals, mostly from the sprints and relays. Edo had its success in the field events, while Akwa Ibom and Cross River got their medals in middle and long-distance races.
 
“Nobody can take it from Delta State in athletics,” Edo State Athletics coach Mutiu Oluwa told NDG Media. “Delta have a very good structure that produces quality athletes every year. If other states like Edo can do what Delta is doing in athletics, it is going to be a total showdown in future Niger Delta Games,” he stated.

Just before the closing ceremony on Thursday, Team Delta athletes showed class, winning three out of the four relay gold medals at stake.
 
But for Team Akwa Ibom, who won the men’s 4x400m, it would have been a clean sweep for Delta State on the final day.
 
Former Nigerian sprint champion, Seun Ogunkoya, witnessed the 2nd Niger Delta Games in Benin City.
 
“The athletes gave it everything they had, because everyone wanted to make a statement,” Ogunkoya said, adding, “This is good for Nigerian athletics. This is just the start, and I believe with many more to come, this country can boast of many athletes in the near future.”
  
Some of the star athletes who won the hearts of spectators at the Games include Ejiro Peters, who won a sprint double in the women’s 100m and 200m. She also won gold in the 4x100m.
 
Peters, who hails from Ethiope-West council of Delta State, said her dream is to become a world champion in the near future.
 
Osama Chibueze also repeated the same for Team Delta by winning a sprint double and the 4x100m. Treasure Okereke won the women’s gold and also helped Delta State to win the women’s 4x400m.
 
In the 400m, David Udoh, of Cross River State, crashed into Delta’s party by taking the men’s 400m, and he also contributed to Cross River State taking the men’s 4x400m gold.
 
Akwa Ibom’s Hephzibah Okon was a sensation in the women’s 800m, but Cross River’s Godsmind Eteng checkmated her quest for a double in the 1500m.
 
In the men’s category, Emmanuel Asuquo grabbed the gold.
 
In the women’s high jump, Treasure Omosivwe was practically competing with herself, matching her personal best of 1.75m to win the gold for Edo State.
 
Organiser of the Warri Effurun Peace Marathon, Mrs Joyce Bozimo, said: “What we have seen here is quite encouraging. Nigeria, most especially the Niger Delta region, is blessed with athletic talents. Our wish is that there should be a follow-up on these athletes.
 
“We can have a camp like we used to have in Afuze, where they could be trained, mentored and conditioned to become world champions.”
 
She also praised the organisation of the Games, which, according to her, was excellent.
 
The Chairman of the organising committee, Sir Itiako Ikpokpo, who is also the chairman of the Delta State Athletics Association, said that the Games Scouting and Mentorship Committee moved around all the venues and is expected to come up with recommendations on the next steps.
 
He, however, encouraged the states to also ensure that athletes found to have potential are provided with the requisite support to blossom.
 
“All said, Dunamis-Icon Limited and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have only provided a platform for the athletes to showcase their talents, and it is the states and the Federal agency that have the responsibility to make them national and international champions,” Ikpokpo said.