It was a sunny day in Jos, Plateau state and the second day of the ongoing MTN Champs tournament in J-town when Kwara born athlete, Yusuf Mohammed Kabir, competed and won the 100 meters race along with a gold medal in the Senior Men 100 meters category at the ongoing MTN Champs tournament.
While MTN Champs is all about discovering and nurturing Olympics athletes to represent Nigeria on the international stage, what makes Yusuf’s win a little different from the everyday one is the fact that he recently made the decision to compete in the 100m set, as a way to perfect his speed for his original competing category, the 110m hurdles.
His first taste in 100m was at MTN Champs Asaba, Delta where he came last but like the famous saying, “na who give up, spoil matter’. According to Yusuf, his dream of competing in the All Africa games and the Olympics kept him going and cemented his decision to compete in the Jos tournament.
Another angle that makes his win more interesting is that he had initially sustained injuries in his quad, groin and another in his knee during previous games.
The odds were really stacked against him at this point but in the spirit of sportsmanship and victory mirroring what MTN Champs is all about, Yusuf chose to compete and clinched himself the enviable title of being the fastest man in Plateau and a gold medal to boast of.
With two days into the competition, the race continues at New Jos Stadium and we hope to meet more champions.