Tayo Ogunseye
A total of 693 athletes from nine countries are expected to compete at the Dynamic Athletics Meet scheduled for August 15 at Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), Lagos.
The registration figures indicated that the meeting has attracted 1,054 athlete-event entries, with Nigeria accounting for 658.
Benin follows with 28 entries, while Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Qatar, Chad, Bahrain, Cameroon and the United Kingdom have one entry each.
The overwhelming Nigerian participation means local athletes make up almost 95 per cent of the registered field, although the presence of competitors from eight other countries gives the meeting an international outlook.
The 100m has emerged as the most subscribed event, attracting 482 entries, while the 400m follows with 246. The long jump has 76 entries, 800m 62, 1500m 33 and 400m hurdles 29. The shot put has 26 entries, while the discus and triple jump have 19 each.
Other events include the 5000m with 16 entries, 100m hurdles with 13, hammer throw and javelin with 10 each, men’s 110m hurdles with seven, 4x100m relay with five and the 4x400m relay with one. The 200m, however, has no registered athlete at the moment.
The strong interest in the sprint events is evident, as the 100m and 400m alone account for 728 entries, representing about 69 per cent of the total athlete-event registrations.
Beyond the senior competition, the meeting will also feature a sizeable number of young athletes. The registration includes 24 U11 athletes, 82 U15, 46 U18 and 10 U20 entries, although some competitors are registered in more than one category.
The competition will also provide a platform for unattached athletes, with 51 competitors registered without club affiliations. Nigeria has 37 unattached athletes, followed by Benin with 11, while Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Qatar have one each.
Sokktan AC leads the club registrations with 27 athletes, followed by Osheku Athletics Academy with 25 and Altivelis/Team Lagos with 23. Eagleslight Athletics Club has 22, while Speedrunner Athletics Academy and Global Power have 21 each.
Other prominent clubs and academies include Higher Ground School with 16 athletes, Arena Academy with 14, De Unique Famous and Kwara State with 13 each, and De Millie Lions with 12.
The impressive registration figures underline the growing profile of the Dynamic Athletics Meet, which is set to provide competition for elite athletes while also giving emerging and grassroots talents an opportunity to test themselves against stronger opposition.
With 693 athletes, 1,054 entries and representation from nine countries, attention will be firmly on Yabatech on August 15, particularly the heavily subscribed 100m and 400m events expected to produce some of the meeting’s biggest highlights.
