Tobias Igwe Memorial Athletics Classics will prelude 2026 Enugu National Sports Festival, says Okorie

The proposed Tobias Igwe Memorial Athletics Classics will serve as a precursor to the forthcoming 23rd National Sports Festival in Enugu, Victor Okorie, the performance Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has revealed.

The AFN board member confirmed in an interview that the repeatedly postponed athletics classic is now scheduled to hold in Enugu before the National Sports Festival.

The US-based ex-athlete acknowledged the significant impact Coach Tobias Igwe had on Nigeria’s athletes, past and present, and emphasized that he deserves to be honored with an athletics competition in his memory.

Coach Igwe, affectionately known as Toblow, was a selfless national coach who would provide guidance to athletes during training, uninvited.

Okorie underscored the need for Nigerians to come together to honor the great coach.

He emphasized that the AFN has already included the competition in the Federation’s calendar of activities for next year and will undoubtedly happen.

Interestingly, Coach Igwe, during his lifetime, was a multifaceted sprint coach and handled various events, with a preference for holding key technical positions, and achieved significant success through the athletes he managed.

The Coach, who hailed from Mbano in Imo State, will be remembered for his total commitment,  dedication to training and his fondness for his athletes.

However, Igwe was disheartened towards the end of his life due to job loss and inability to secure adequate funds to train and ensure the future of his athletes, a challenge that troubled him until his demise in December 2019.