The Vice-President, Swimming Section of Ikoyi Club 1938, Oloyede Obatoyinbo, on Tuesday said the club was aiming at producing the next generation of swimming superstars for the country.
Obatoyinbo made this known while reviewing the activities of the club in recent times and the preparation for the Ansberg Competition in Germany.
Ikoyi Club recently hosted the Zenith Bank/Ikoyi Club Swimming Gala where private primary and secondary schools competed for honours.
The swimmers from the club are also preparing to represent the country at the Swimfest Swimming Competition in Ansberg, Germany beginning on May 18.
It is worthy of note that the Team Ikoyi Club 1938 is the defending champions of the 35 clubs competition for swimming clubs from all over the world.
On the role young swimmers from the club could play in the development of swimming in Nigeria, Obatoyinbo said that they were more than ever ready to take the world by storm.
“We have a couple of excellent swimmers in the club, young future medal hopeful. They have the right training, and good facilities for them to excel.
“I am proud of these young swimmers from different ages, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-16, these are the right age for development in the sport.
“We have been producing the right talents Nigeria needs; last year, we went to Germany to defeat all the world superstars to emerge champions of the Swimfest.
“This is a remarkable achievement for us being world champions and we are ready to do more; this year we are going to Germany to defend the title we won last year,’’ he said.
Obatoyinbo said the club’s record on the domestic scene was also what they would latch on to make sure that the swimmers would be the national champions.
“I must say that in the last Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Championships in Oct. 2017, countrywide, we had about 24 swimmers that make up Group 1 13-14, and Group II 14-16.
“In Group I, Ikoyi Club 1938 fielded 6 out of the 12 swimmers all over the country, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Edo, Lagos, and Ondo, this comes to mind how important our swimmers are to the national competition.
“We are aiming to have more of our swimmers emerge to represent the country not only at national events but at the Commonwealth Games and Olympics. We want to produce gold medallist at Olympics.
“We are also training hard to retain our position at the Ansberg tournament in Germany, our swimmers are training day and night to be in shape for the competition,’’ he said.
On the grassroots development of swimming in the country, an enthusiast and board member of the Aquatics Federation of Nigeria, (AFN), Joseph Odobeatu (OJezz), said that the country was right on track.
“Competitions like this is what the nation needs for the development of swimming, this affords the young swimmers the opportunity to showcase their talents.
“Those swimmers we have seen so far here have proved beyond doubt that they are the future of the country. They are well trained while some also visit the National Stadium Swimming Pool for training.
“With the National Stadium swimming pool coming back to life, many swimmers are gradually coming back to training. The facility is the best in the country for now.
“We have a good measure of maintenance culture which is good for the swimmers,’’ he said.
