Saudi Arabia appoints Nigerian Olympic gold medalist, Enefiok Udo-Obong as Technical Director of Saudi Athletic Development Programme.
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Udo-Obong will be leading the Saudi Arabia Team to the Olympic Games starting from the 26th of July.
The 2000 Sydney Olympics gold medalist takes over at the kingdom this weekend.
Until this appointment Enefiok Udo-Obong was the technical Director of the Lagos State Athletics Association.
He is fondly remembered for his race of a lifetime to earn Nigeria a gold medal in the four by 100 metres relay from a losing position.
He will take over from this weekend and lead the Kingdom team to the Olympic Games in Paris France at a time Nigeria faces the danger of not being at the same Games
Enefiok Udo-Obong (born 22 May 1982), also known as Enee, is a Nigerian sprinter and accomplished athlete. He is the only Nigerian to win two Olympic medals, winning a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He is also a writer, speaker, businessman, and administrator.
Udo-Obong earned a degree in Human anatomy from the University of Calabar. He also earned an Advanced Master’s degree in Sports Administration and Technology from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), which is located in Switzerland.
Udo-Obong won the gold medal in 4 x 400 meter relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also won the bronze medal in the same event at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2000, he was voted Sportsman of the Year, and won the Dele Udo prize for sporting excellence. He has also won the national championships on three occasions, and is a six-time medalist at a national sports festival is Nigeria.
Udo-Obong was nominated as one of the 50 most influential young Africans by African Digest in 2002, where he also captained Team Nigeria to the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, UK.
Udo-Obong is a recipient of the Akwa Ibom State Honours Roll, and is also a recipient of the Certificate of Award for Outstanding Contribution to Sports Development in Nigeria.
Udo-Obong is a former board member of the Nigerian Olympic Committee, and chairperson of the Athletes’ Commission. He is also a member of the Athletes’ Commission of the Association of National Olympic Committees in Africa (ANOCA), a member of the Nigerian Olympians Association, a member of the advisory board of the Atlanta 1996 training centre in Atlanta, a member of the Institute of Registered Exercise Professionals, a member of the international Fitness Association (IFA), And the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), as well as other international bodies. He is also the president of the Association of Fitness Practitioners in Nigeria.
Udo-Obong is the author of the motivational book, “The Silver Lining: Turning Major Setbacks into Major Victories”, which has sold over 25,000 copies across the nation.
Udo-Obong was recently appointed a facilitator by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to train athletes in the Athletes Career Program (ACP), a program designed to “help athletes to transition into a productive life after their sporting careers”.
Publications
He has written the following books. “The Silver Lining-Turning Major setbacks into Major Victories” (2006), “The Goldmine-unleashing the Champion in you” (2021) and “In the Long Run-The Great Race Fiasco” (2023)
