Fasuba savours Valencia feat

By Saliu Gbadamosi - 19.03.2008

Olusoji Fasuba WORLD indoor 60m champion, Nigeria's Olusoji Fasuba is happy he emerged world champion at the just-held 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain. Fasuba, the reigning African 100m record holder, twice at the Valencia meet, ran 6.51 seconds both in the semi-final and the final to clinch the gold medal, making history of being the first Nigerian and African to achieve such a feat.

The champion told the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) that he was delighted emerging world champion at the IAAF event, saying, "I am very, very glad". He added: "The fact that I will be called a world champion makes me very happy."

Meanwhile, a close associate of the Nigerian sprintster imformed Tribunesports on Tuesday that having won a gold medal at the indoor championships, Fasuba's major target now was not only to do well at the Beijing 2008 Olympics but also to win the gold medal in China. The source, who preferred not to be named, said that Fasuba told him (the source) that he had his eyes set at the gold medal of this year's Olympic Games, noting that with the Nigerian's form it is possible for him to excel in Beijing later in the year.

"Fasuba's next major target is the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. He told me that he wanted to add the Olympic gold medal to his collections. It is possible for him to achieve this, considering his present form," the source told Tribunesports. The source, however, pleaded with sports authorities in the country, including the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to ensure that Fasuba's welfare and training are taken care of so that he would not burn out his energy at the circuits before the Olympics proper.

"There is the need for the authorities to take care of his training and welfare now so that he would not burn out before the Olympics begins. He needs to select the races he will run in the circuits now if we want to have the best of him in Beijing," noted the source.