A coach addressed his team with a firm message: "No excuses. Training is a priority. It doesn't matter if it rains, if you're broke, or if you're feeling down. Your commitment is here, and you need to show up."

One of the athletes raised a concern: "Coach, isn't that a bit harsh? What if we're dealing with something really tough? Are you saying we still have to come, no matter what?"

The coach responded, "This isn’t just about athletics—it’s about life. Do you think life cares if you're far from home tomorrow? Do you think it cares if you're broke or struggling? Life doesn’t stop for anyone. It moves forward, and so must you. Training isn’t about me—it’s about your promise to yourself. It’s about pushing forward no matter the challenges, reaching your goals, and staying committed to your journey. Athletics isn’t just about running, jumping, or throwing—it’s about building resilience and learning to win, not just in sports, but in life."

From that day on, the team’s mindset shifted, and no one wanted to miss a single session.

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TYPES OF DATES EVERY COUPLE SHOULD TRY:

1. PICNIC DATE
There is something special and free about the outdoors. Pack up some food and drinks and a leso, find a spot and have fun

2. WALK DATE
Make time to just take a walk as you bond. Walk for long as you hold hands, laugh, bump shoulder to shoulder. You need no money for this

3. ELEGANT DATE
Go all out. Gentleman, ask her out to an expensive, classy venue. Give her a chance to dress up. She will feel special, smiling as you romance her; she wearing her fashionable dress

4. DANCE DATE
Find a place where good music is played or dance is taught and go there as a couple. Salsa, lingala, afro, twist, benga; go to a place where you will sweat, groove and get down

5. IMPROMPTU DATE
Dates don't have to be pre-planned. Be spontenous sometimes, drop everything and go somewhere as a couple for some quality time

6. MOVIE DATE
Go to the cinema. Movies bring out emotions

7. DOUBLE DATE
Go out on a date with another couple close to you. This will give you a chance to celebrate love and talk couple to couple. Your love will grow stronger

8. COMPASSION DATE
There are many people in society to bless. You and your partner, find a children's home, an elderly home, a hospital or someone in need and together go spend time with them. God will bless your love

9. CANDLE-LIGHT DINNER DATE
There is something romantic about looking into each other's eyes in dim candle light. Make it special. Romance is sweet

10. SPECIAL MOMENT DATE
This is when you celebrate big as a couple a special moment like Birthday, Anniversary, Graduation or Promotion. Never forget these moments

11. MAKE-UP DATE
If things between you two haven't been going well. Make effort to save your love by planning a good date. A date provides a good setting to allow you two to talk and get back to deep love

12. LUNCH DATE
Since you work at different jobs, sometimes meet up and have a couple's lunch for an hour or so

13. OLD LOVE DATE
Dates are not for young love only. Sadly, as lovers stay in a relationship/marriage, the dates become fewer as they go through the motions. No matter how long you've been together, step outside your everyday responsibilities and go for a date to rekindle and sustain the excitement

14. SPORTS DATE
Is your favorite football club, rugby team, basketball team, golfer playing? Is it the safari rally, athletics? Go out for dates as a couple where you can scream, cheer and go wild. You two will connect more

15. FRIENDS DATE
Have a barbeque, hook up with friends, throw a party. Organize something as a couple where your love will be celebrated in the presence of close friends

16. TRAVEL DATE
Pack your bags and travel. Break the monotony and as a couple drive, fly, sail to a place you've never been. Experience new attractions together. Your love will never be boring this way

16. STAY AT HOME DATE
Or lock yourself in the house. Not to work or do chores. But to switch off everything and concentrate on each other. Cook together, eat together, make memories for two.

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In athletics there's always been a willingness to cheat if it looks like you're not cheating. I think that's just a quirk of human nature.

Nigerian actor and comedian, Oluwatobiloba Olubiyi, also known as Agba or Oli Ekun, talks about his love for athletics and Manchester United in this interview with ABIODUN ADEWALE

Meet world record holder, Onye Lauritta (age 40), a Nigerian Paralympian athlete shot-putter.🤝🏽

Onye Lauritta is a two-time world championships medalist and two-time paralympic medalist.

Her world opened up in 2011 when her event was included at the All Africa Games in Maputo, this time for real. She attended and finished with silver in shot put.

Fired on from there, she trained for the 2015 African Championships where she hit gold in shot put, with a world record of 7.59 metres, and silver in discus throw.

Matching on, she proceeded to the Doha 2015 International Paralympic Championships to win Gold (the only medal for Nigeria and also increased her world record to 7.72 metres).

In 2016, she handed team Nigeria it’s first medal in the athletes event, clinching gold in the women’s shot put f40 on day-four of the Rio2016 in Brazil. Her first throw of 8.40m which stands as a world record till today.

Lauritta Onye settled for the bronze in the F40 shot put with a throw of 8.29m at the Tokyo2022 Paralympic Games in Japan.

She also won Silver at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, France

Happiest and Iconic moment🤸🏿
In the celebration of her victory (Gold medal) at the Rio2016 Paralympic Games in Brazil, Lauritta left an unforgettable excitement in the games with her dance steps, catwalks, summersaults and friendly gestures as she flew the Nigerian green-white-green right in the centre of the world stage.

The Brazilian spectators aptly described her as “the dancing queen” and that moment has been captured as an iconic advertisement of the Paralympic spirit, an inspiration for all persons with disability, not only in sports.

Sad moments
1. On her return from Doha, the Nigerian society played a trick on her. Muhammadu Buhari had just been elected President and one of his first engagements with the sports community was to reward athletes and coaches who had brought glory to Nigeria in international events, including members of the 1985 national team that won the first FIFA U16 World Cup in China.

Curiously, Lauritta and her coach, Patrick Anaeto, were not invited to the party nor given neither recognition nor reward.

Lauritta was saddened with the disregard. It could have discouraged her from further involvement in sports but she was in love and also has great mental strength and resilience.

2. After the Paralympic team returned from Rio, her home state government, Imo, showered the medalists from there with cash and car gifts but Lauritta was excluded, for the reason that she resides in Lagos.

Onye is also an actress, performing under the name Laury White.

Onye Lauritta is from Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria.

Onye Lauritta deserves national honor 🖐🏽

American-born Nigerian champion Dubem Amene has announced his retirement from athletics at age 21 following the disqualification of the men’s 4x400m relay squad from Paris 2024 Olympics final…

Kenya's Olympic campaign in Paris is over after Hellen Obiri won a bronze medal in the women's marathon. Only the USA has performed better in athletics than Kenya.

https://read.legit.ng/4tMu

Usain St Leo Bolt is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field and is considered by many to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He has held the world record in both the 100 meters and 200 meters for nearly 15 years. He is 37 years old (August 21, 1986) and was born in Sherwood Content, Jamaica.

Bolt's parents ran a local grocery store. He grew up playing football (soccer) and cricket. His cricket coach encouraged him to sprint.

Bolt rose to fame at the 2002 World Junior Championships in his home country. He turned professional in 2004 at the age of 18. He competed in his first Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 but was not at peak performance due to an injury. He set his first world record in the 100m in 2008 in New York City.

In the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, Bolt ran in both the 100m and 200m. He set a new world record in the 100m winning the gold. The next day, he won another gold medal and set another world record in the 200m. He was part of the Jamaican 4 x 100m relay team and they also won gold and set a world record. That gold medal was later stripped before one of the competitors, not Bolt, failed a drug screening.

Bolt won the same three events four years later in London and eight years later in Rio de Janeiro to bring his gold medal total to eight, not counting the forfeited one. He is still the world record holder in the 100m and 200m, records that were last set in 2009.

Bolt was the International Association of Athletics Federations (now called World Athletics) World Athlete of the Year six times from 2008-2016. He wrote an autobiography in 2010. He co-founded a company called Bolt Mobility in 2018. They make electric scooters. They planned on releasing a minicar called Bolt Nano in 2020. The company ceased operating in 2022. In 2021, he released a music single called Living the Dream with NJ Walker.

Bolt has three children (all pictured) with longtime girlfriend Kasi Bennett (pictured). They have been in a relationship for over a decade. Their daughter is Olympia Lightning Bolt and their twin boys are Saint Leo and Thunder Bolt. They live in Kingston, Jamaica.
#UsainBolt

After his victory, Letsile Tebogo turned down the chance of becoming the ‘face of athletics’ by aiming a subtle dig at Noah Lyles. Details in comments.