Great Britain’s Nigerian-born shot-putter, Lawrence Okoye has declared that he is staying focused fully on getting a medal from discuss event at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, hence his decision to put all woes of the past behind him.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, rather than focus of hazards and near misses that have bedeviled him in recent time, the former star player in USA’s National Football League (NFL) declared that his focus is on what is about to come his way in Japan.
The 29-year-iold runner stressed that the task for him now is to bury the past and think only of the future, because he wants to forget about the past and nine years away from Team GB, as he goes about making the best of his comeback in Tokyo.
Okoye finished 12th at London 2012 but, a year later, he quit the circle and signed for NFL action with San Francisco 49ers in an attempt to crack the American Football clique, during which he starred in the International Series 2013 against Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.
In four-and-a-half years, which included spells with the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, he failed to play a competitive game, but Okoye stressed that he is keen to move on from as the Olympics officially opens on Friday.
The British record holder, who threw 68.24m in 2012, remains confident he can challenge in Tokyo, with his best effort of 67.13m this year 4.27m behind world leader Daniel Stahl of Sweden.
He won the British Championships with a throw of 61.71m in Manchester last month after winning the discus at the European Team Championships in Poland after securing the Olympic standard with a best of 61.71 sealed his place in Tokyo.
Okoye told PA news agency: “It’s hard, it’s been a very interesting journey for me but I don’t think about anything from the past – at all. I’m just focused on performing well this year.
“I’m very much focused on my day-to-day life, I’m never really thinking that way, about what has happened previously. I’m quite singular in my approach at the moment and I’m not really harking back to any other times.
“Just being an athlete for such a long time, regardless of the sport, I have become very professional in what I do. My training habits, nutrition, sleep. I’m very focused on all those things and the sheer time I’ve spent playing sport has allowed me to develop those good habits.
“Those carry on with me every day. I don’t spend much time focusing on things I have done in the past. The only way those things help me is in the way I approach my day-to-day life.
“I’m in excellent shape physically, mentally I’m very focused but technically I’m a bit hit and miss.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my performance at the championships, I did win but I didn’t perform that great. Hopefully I can iron out the little issues I have to ensure I can throw as far as I am capable of.
“Skill-wise I’m capable of being able to do extremely well in Tokyo. Will I have the courage to do that? We’ll see. But that is what sport is, people who are the greatest perform their best at the highest level.
“We’ll see if I can do that but if I can do what I am capable of, I can do extremely well. I always said I could always come back, which I have done, to maybe do two, three or four more Olympics.
“I have only been back for around two years so it’s not the best preparation but the fact I am where I am now is a great sign.”
