Femi Seun Ogunode

Femi Seun Ogunode (born 15 May 1991) is a Nigerian-born sprint athlete who competes internationally for Qatar since 2010. Quotes I knew before the race that I would win, even though nobody else pushed me. During training I had run 19.0 seconds so I was very confident I would win. Ogunode and Fukushima complete doubles in Guangzhou - Asian Games, Day 5, November 26 2010 I just want to thank everybody. I want to thank my team and my manager and everybody that supports me,Today it is not a surprise for me because last year at the Asian Games I did not have a coach. I was training alone. Now I have a coach so this is not a surprise. Today's result is just like training. This is not my best. I am ready in any weather, any condition and anywhere. I am going for the gold. Qatari sprinters dominate at Asian Championships, June 04 2015 I believe in giving back to people. While I was growing up I saw how young athletes suffered to make a head way in athletics. Nobody gave us a chance to showcase our talent. Last year,I thought within myself that it was time to give back to the society, especially the young athletes as it seems that the body in charge of athletics here in Nigeria has better things to do than develop the sport at the grassroots level. So I decided that if I start this foundation, I will be helping athletics at the grassroots level, having watched the youngsters compete at the Sports Complex of the Federal University of Technology, FUTA. I saw many that would be the future of Nigeria if programmes are organised to help them and develop the potential they have. If they can keep them together and organise training camps for them, they will shine at the world stage. I made my mark running for Qatar – Ogunode, October 05 2015 For the future, my target is to be Olympic champion. Even the world record, it’s another part of my goal so I’m working towards that. I believe in myself and I trust God, and I trust myself. And I believe in everybody who believes in me. In terms of time I believe I can break that world record. You can never tell, but I’m very sure I can win here. Qatari sprinter, Femi Ogunode, targets world record, May 16 2017 I was in Nigeria before I came to Qatar. You know that I am from Ondo State and I represented the state for sometime. And I also ran for University of Ibadan where I qualified for the Olympics then. Along the line so many things went down. Lots of politics were played. I was not taken to the Olympics. In athletics, politics is involved. In Nigeria, you might have the fastest time, they don’t care. They will just bring in their own athletes. That was when I decided to pursue my dream and left Nigeria for Qatar. To be candid with you, it is not possible again because right now I am dedicated to Qatar. When my country of birth cannot be fair to me, they never appreciated what I have. No matter how fast you are, you need to train hard, you need good facilities and all that will enhance your speed. All that were never available for me while in Nigeria. But when I got to Qatar they took care of me, I have all facilities I need to keep performing well at my disposal. Trust me I can never run for Nigeria again. I am happy where I am here right now. It was just like Sharapova, the tennis athlete. I used a particular drug that has nothing to do with my performance on the track. I didn’t know. Just like for instance when you want to run sometimes you might just take lemon juice and water, whether distilled or some other kind of water but they are still water. But when you are tested and find some substances in your system they will still term it as drugs. So, I was just very unfortunate and there was nothing I could do. So, I just went out training without running. But happy to be back. It feel so great to have won the best Asian athlete award in the US last year. As an athlete you know what it means to win awards. It means hard work pays in getting whatever medal or award you win. It was not easy because I was just training for about a year or so without running in any tournament. So, it was hard work that paid off. First and foremost, Usain Bolt is an athlete that I respect a lot in this industry and he has made a name for himself too. Every athlete in the industry is looking up to him, wanting to be like him. That does not make him unbeatable when it comes to athletics. Especially when you are in form. Anything can happen. So, anything is possible. Best Asian athlete: Nigeria’s negligence drove me to Qatar, May 16 2016 I had a feeling that I would break the Asian record, and I promise I will win more gold medals here. My doping case was a set up; that’s why I won the case. I know they slipped something into my drink. When I saw the doping results, I told myself no way. My backroom staff were solidly behind me because they know I didn’t do anything. I told myself that when I come back, they will know I was clean. I was rejected twice by Nigeria. I was supposed to be on the flight to Algiers 2007 because I was the second fastest young athlete at that time, but I was dropped without any explanation. Great. That is one of the best decisions I know I have taken because twice I was rejected by Nigeria. I was supposed to be on the flight to Algiers 2007 because I was the second fastest young athlete at that time, but I was dropped without any explanation. A year later, I qualified for the biennial IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, as the best age-group sprinter in Nigeria. Subsequently, I also made it to the senior side for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But due to politics within the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), they dropped me from the squad for Poland, negotiating with me by saying I would get my chance in China. I agreed, as I always wanted to compete in the Olympics. But just two weeks prior to the games, I found out I was out of the team. I felt powerless against the AFN’s internal games. In all of these, my dad always told me to believe in myself and that time will come for the world to recognize my efforts. It’s hard to say, but we got $500,000 for every championship I competed in, which motivated us to do better and achieve more for the country. And not just the welfare; they also budgeted a whole lot of money for the development of talent and grooming of the next generation. The system we have currently doesn’t favour grooming talents for international stardom. How do you expect athletes who drink garri after training with no hope of good food and a balanced nutritional schedule to perform or give you the best? We are not there yet, but we can get there if we start the right thing today. That’s why I started my Femi Seun Ogunde Foundation to nurture talents from the grassroots and expose them to the international stage. This initiative, which we started in 2016, has helped over 500 Nigerians with tremendous testimonies. Exclusive: Femi Ogunode reveals how he becomes the fastest man in Asia, October 20 2024 External Links Category:1991 births Category:Track and field athletes Category:Living people