Fortune has smiled on young Nigerian Junior Olympic triple jumper, Ineh Oritsemeyiwa, who now has a ticket from the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, to further his education and also pursue his sports career through scholarship in the U.S.
The minister facilitated Oritsemeyiwa’s trip after two failed efforts at securing U.S visa and ticket due to financial constraints. Speaking when the athlete paid him a farewell visit to his office in Abuja, Dare urged Oritsemeyiwa to be a good ambassador of Nigeria by staying focused as he prepares for the Olympics in Tokyo.
Oritsemeyiwa, born on March 17, 2001, represented Nigeria in triple and long jumps at the Youth Olympics in Argentina in 2018, where he won a silver medal. He competed at the Africa Region ll Games in Ghana and won a gold medal in triple jump boys and a silver medal in the long jump.
He also competed at the 2018 National trials in Abuja where he won both the long jump and triple jump events. He also represented Nigeria in the long jump and triple jump events at the 2018 Africa Youth Games in Algiers, Algeria, where he clinched a gold medal in the triple jump with a distance of 16:22m, an Africa youth record though not yet ratified.
Oritsemeyiwa, who will continue his sports and academics at the William Carey University, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S, is one of the athletes Nigeria will be relying on for medals in Tokyo.
