Francis Obikwelu in Munich (© Paulo Costa)
Lisbon, PortugalAthletics has given Portuguese sport some of the most exciting moments of its history. Names like Carlos Lopes, Fernando Mamede, Rosa Mota, Fernanda Ribeiro etc...will always be remembered. Now, the roll of notable Portuguese athletics resounds to a new star name, that of the Nigerian born sprinter, Francis Obikwelu.
Francisco, as he is called by Portuguese friends, during his first season representing his new country brought home two continental championship silver medals and a 200m victory from the IAAF World Cup in Madrid.
His achievements are particularly significant since these were the first major medals for Portuguese sprinting. With Obikwelu, Portugal can now field a more balanced athletics line up, one which is no longer the exclusive domain of middle and long distance running stars.
Although his origins are in Nigeria, Obikwelu was born to represent athletics in Portugal. His arrival in his adopted country was not an easy one. In fact, he initially faced all the difficulties of an illegal immigrant, before finally reaching the elite of international athletics.
It was at the age of 14, when Obikwelu was practicing for football that a coach first recognised his athletic potential. Representing Nigeria, in 1994 he took the 400m silver (47.22) at the African Junior championships. Then in 1996 he participated at the World Juniors and took a memorable sprint double in 10.21 and 20.47, the former ahead of another aspiring junior talent, Britain’s Dwain Chambers (5th 10.47).
During the same year, Obikwelu first came to Portugal for a race and decided to stay. However, his immigration status was complex and Portuguese clubs hesitated to accept him, and so the young sprint talent ended up working in the construction industry. But luck quickly began to change in his favour when an English teacher Mary Morgan, decided to help him and sorted out his residency in his new home. Obikwelu is now fully assimilated into the country and has a Portuguese coach, Fausto Ribeiro from the national club ‘Belenenses’.
In Munich, at this summer’s European Championships, in the 100m only Dwain Chambers out ran him – 9.96 to Obikwelu''s 10.06 (Portuguese record). While in the 200m, just Greece’s World and Olympic champion Konstantinos Kenteris was superior, running 19.85 the second best European ever, ahead of Obikwelu’s 20.21 national record for silver.
"I am very happy with the results I achieved. Two medals represent an excellent score for me", he said.
These performances elevated Obikwelu not just up to the top rung of Portuguese athletics but also to the highest echelons of world sprinting with the likes of the Americans, Maurice Greene and Tim Montgomery. Being younger than both the world’s former and present fastest men, Obikwelu believes he still has great potential to progress further and faster in the sport.
"Tim Montgomery is a very good athlete, very quick. I expect also to accomplish a good mark like he did in Paris at the IAAF Final Grand Prix." For that to happen, "I only have to improve my start.”
For someone who had just run national records of 10.06 and 20.21 in Munich this comment by Obikwelu would appear to be wild exaggeration. But that would be to forget his athletics past because previously as a Nigerian he set personal bests of 9.97 and 19.84 for the 100m and 200m respectively, and from that platform, his expressed expectations are anything but elusory.
At the end of August at the Brussels Golden League meeting, Obikwelu took another chunk out of the national 100m mark, finishing second to Montgomery (9.91) in a time of 10.01.
Obikwelu closed his season with another promising result at the IAAF World Cup in Madrid in September. Representing the European team, by the end of the two day meeting Obikwelu had contributed nine points, to the European team’s overall third place finish in the Cup.
In the 100m he was third (10.09) beating the European champion Dwain Chambers (5th, 10.16). Though this mark was worse than his national record (10:01), "the important thing was to guarantee a place on the podium", he confirmed.
He then won the 200m in 20:18 - bettering the 20.21 national record he obtained in Munich - defeating African and Commonwealth champion Frank Fredericks (20:20) and the British European Cup winner Marlon Devonish (20:32). The record was unexpected. "I intended only to win. But everything turned out even better."
It's a comment which also succinctly describes Obikwelu's entire first year competing in a Portuguese vest - even better than expected!
Paulo Costa for the IAAF