Last year’s silver medallist, Omololu Abiodun, is confident in his track abilities and wants to do even better at this year’s BUCS championship as Matt Dean reports…
UEL 200m sprinter Omololu Abiodun has set his sights on winning gold in this year’s BUCS championship in Sheffield after coming runner up in 2015.
The 23 year old said: “I’m confident. Not sure how fast I’m going to run, but I wanna be the fastest leading the pack. I’m aiming to beat my personal best of 21.18secs.”
Last time out in Sheffield, he came second to his arch rival, Antonio Infantino. This Sunday, the pair will meet again, and despite Infatino’s impressive record last year, Abiodun is determined to pip ahead and be crowned BUCS 200m champion.
As an engineering student, he knows how things work. Success at 200 meters is measured in split seconds. It’s that close, often too close for comfort. But Abiodun has a special pre race ritual for handling the pressure of top-level competition. He said: “I sing and dance in the changing rooms just moments before the race, it’s what I do to calm my nerves.”
Buckets of confidence
Sports training has nowadays become very scientific with a lot of emphasis on careful diets and suitable nutritional plan. “An Athletes body is like a racing car. It has to be well maintained and fuelled.” Abiodun is interesting; he says: “I eat a lot of chicken. This involves a lot of careful diets which helps against injury.”
This young man has another vital ingredient. It’s something that everyone needs if they are going to succeed. He has buckets of confidence. Those of us who have had our eyes on Abiodun have no doubts that he has a great future.
It’s tough out there in the world of elite athletics and there are always competitors like Antonio Infantino to give you a run for your money. Abiodun is feeling very confident going into this race, but at the same time acknowledges that it will be a very difficult task and he cannot underestimate any of his peers. As writer Oscar Wilde said famously “nothing succeeds like success.”