Oluwabunmi Lateef is the latest addition to Making of Champions (MoC) Track Club in Lagos as the sprinter was inducted into the club at a ceremony held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos on Thursday, January 18th, 2018.
Lateef caught MoC’s attention at the 2016 Top Sprinter competition in Lagos where he claimed a Silver medal in the junior category of the men’s 400m. The addition of Lateef who is from Ondo State, takes the tally of MoC athletes to 16.
Speaking after the induction ceremony, an enthusiastic Lateef revealed that he is looking forward to achieving great things in his Athletics career with the support of MoC.
He said, “I’m full of joy because I was a bit worried when I came to Lagos a few weeks ago since I wasn’t sure of my fate, but now that I have been inducted, I really feel very happy. I’ve been aiming to be a part of Making of Champions since the Top Sprinter competition in 2016 and now that I’m here, I do not have enough words to express how I feel.”
MoC Founder/CEO Bambo Akani disclosed that Lateef is a member of the quartermile team the club is grooming towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
He said: “Bunmi has just joined the club in Lagos; we brought him from Ondo State. He’s an athlete we’ve been tracking since our Top Sprinter competition in 2016. He was 2nd in the junior men’s 400m and we are really excited for him to be part of the club.
“We are building a very solid quartermile team that can go do Nigeria proud at the 2020 Olympics and beyond, so watch out for these kids. It’s a long term game, so let’s see what Bunmi and the others are going to do over the next two or three years and beyond.”
In the same vein, three athletes all under the age of 15, were added to MoC’s Youth team. The trio of Alimat Badmus, Maria Umoibang and Favour Ogidi will be joining the likes of Shell-sponsored Chiamaka Egbochinam, Bowofoluwa Egbeyemi and Favour Ekpekpe in that cadre, and will be hoping to compete with their peers in the near future.
