Triathlon.org
As part of efforts to create more awareness and also discover talents in Lagos State, the Nigeria Triathlon Union in conjunction with ExxonMobil will hold a holiday clinic for students from 40 schools from tomorrow to Thursday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
The event, according to the organisers, is to encourage children to develop interest in Triathlon at a tender age, President of the Aquatic Federation of Nigeria, Babatunde Fatayi-Williams, who represented the Triathlon Union President, Lanre Glover, said.
Fatayi-Williams, who spoke at the unveiling of the event at the weekend, affirmed that the sport, which started in 1920 in France and is now recognised at the Olympics, has gained ground in Nigeria.
According to Fatayi-Williams, the multiple nature of the sport, which involves swimming, cycling and running, also necessitated a workshop for games masters, who would train the students in their various schools before the clinic.
“The sport is a multiple and tough event, which needs the best approach from the formative level. The students will participate in three stages of the event, which is Triathlon that involves swimming and cycling till they get to the transition zone and run, decathlon, run, cycling and run, Aqualon, which involves run, swim and run,” he said.
“The transition zone is the most technical aspect of the sport, which all participants must be trained in during the three-day event. Every participant would be exposed to the area of specialty and we are expecting private and public schools with four students from each school at the clinic.
“They would be given certificates of attendance and also the talents discovered would be monitored by the Lagos Sports Council.
“We are planning to organize the clinic in other states to also create awareness and discover talents in those areas,” he said.
