By Lucy Wilde, Sportsbeat
Teenage track sensation Ebuka Nwokeji is running out of space to store his growing medal collection but has no plans to curb his rapid rise up the British rankings.
The 17-year-old Northampton sprint star burst onto the scene in electric fashion to establish himself as one of Britain’s most exciting young talents by claiming double gold at the National Championships. athletics 2023.
The Commonwealth, national and international stages have become a regular fixture for the youngster whose talent over 100m and 200m continues to dazzle, but Nwokeji believes the best is yet to come.
“The dream is to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It sounds generic to say I admire Usain Bolt, but growing up all I saw was him winning. It’s what I aspire to do I want to win it all,” said Nwokeji, after being selected by Aldi – the official supermarket partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB and official partners of the Team GB Nearest & Dearest program,. supporting athletes’ families – and SportsAid as part of their Rising Stars programme.
“The Olympics are the pinnacle of this sport, so getting there would be a huge reward for all the hours of hard work I have put in. It would fill me and my family with great pride.”
It was only after being encouraged to try athletics by his mother that football-mad Nwokeji took up track, but he could never have predicted that this experience would lead him to wear the vest British.
“I remember winning a sprint race at a primary school sports day. My mother realized I had talent and got me racing at a local club, but I didn’t really appreciate it until about two years ago,” he said.
“Something finally clicked when I realized my talent wouldn’t take me far. I finished fourth in a race and that’s when I suddenly realized that if I wanted to be really good, I needed to start taking my training seriously.
“It’s thanks to my mother that I didn’t give up. She was involved in athletics when she was younger, and she was always the one who encouraged me to do extracurricular activities rather than stay stuck in my books.
In the last two years alone, Nwokeji recorded the fourth fastest time ever in the under-17s – 10.54 seconds for 100m – and won silver at the Commonwealth Youth Games and gold in double sprint at the national level.
Living at full speed is in the nature of the adolescent.
“I am very happy with my decision to pursue athletics. In my head I had an idea of where I wanted to go but I never imagined it would happen this quickly,” he said. “I’m so grateful that this is the case.
“I want to be one of the best sprinters in the world, so becoming one of the fastest sprinters in my age group in a year after training properly was a ‘wow’ moment.”
Nwokeji is one of 1,000 athletes supported each year by SportsAid, who provide crucial financial support and offer development opportunities through workshops and tours.
These athletes are Britain’s brightest sporting hopes. They are nominated to SportsAid by the national governing bodies of more than 60 sports based on criteria defined by each.
The typical value of a SportsAid award is £1,000 with money generated through a combination of commercial partnerships, trust and charitable funds and fundraising activities.
Nwokeji has also reaped the rewards of SportsAid’s partnership with Aldi, which also offers vital media and nutrition training sessions, as well as funding the Parent Pathway Series – a series of bespoke online sessions for parents and carers to ensure that SportsAid athletes receive the best family. the support they can.
With ambitions to realize his Olympic dream in just under four years, Nwokeji knows the importance of putting in the hours in training and credits SportsAid for helping him get there.
“The training is difficult and combining this training with my bachelor’s degree means I don’t have time to find a job. So the SportsAid funding has been really helpful as I don’t have to worry about working.
“I live in Northampton but I train at Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers in London three times a week, so the funding really helps with petrol costs and gives me one less thing to think about.”
Aldi and SportsAid are now in their third year of partnership. In 2024 they are supporting six local athletes, who will be part of SportsAid and Aldi’s promotional campaign, will receive enhanced financial support, a monthly fruit and vegetable voucher, a private tour of Team GB’s Kitting Out experience and media training and nutrition sessions. . For more information, visit https://www.sportsaid.org.uk/partners/our-partners/aldi