I’ll correct my mistakes in Paris – African Games gold medalist, Okezie

It’s not all gloomy for a key member of Team Nigeria, Chidi Okezie at the 23rd African Senior Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon.

The gold medalist at 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana, says lots of lessons have been learnt in Cameroon and will be implemented in Paris, the French capital during the Olympic Games.

“Sometimes, you have to be uncomfortable. You can’t be afraid of challenges. This time, the challenge has defeated me. This Africa trip taught me a lot about my body and my mental toughness.”

That’s the candid submission of the man who anchored Team Nigeria at the World Athletics Relays in Bahamas, earlier in the year, adding that he is ready to correct the mistakes he made at the Championships.

On Tuesday, the US-born sprinter of Nigerian and Jamaican descent and two-time African Championships bronze medallist in the 400 metres, said he knows what to fix to improve on his performance.

In Douala, the 6.6m tall athIete ran 45.96 to place fifth in his semi-final heat which was not good enough to land him in his dream final this time around.

Okezie, the Nigerian hero at the World Athletics Relays, in May, took to his official Facebook page to express his disappointments with a promise to fix things ahead of the Olympics.

“After running a Personal Best and qualifying for the Olympics, I was on top of the world. That quickly changed when I ran my slowest races of the year at Nigerian Championships and then failed to qualify for the African Championships final finishing 9th.” The graduate of Hampton University stated.

“I was down cast about my performances but I know what I need to fix. It’s time to get back to the drawing board. Remember, God makes no mistakes.” Okezie, a Masters degree holder in Sports Administration concluded.