Nigeria’s foremost female athlete, Blessing Okagbare has joined several top track and field stars from across the world in lamenting over the financial constraints they are currently facing on account of the suspension of all events due to the ravaging effects of coronavirus, megasportsarena.com reports.
It is now a situation of dire financial constraints, with no competition at all, as the last two months were supposed to be big for Okagbare and other athletics, as the season started with all eyes on the Olympic Games in July but a host of events have now been postponed or cancelled.
The first half of the year should have seen the World Indoor and World Half Marathon championships take place in March, and the start of series like the World Marathon Majors, Diamond League and Continental Tour and, with the African Athletics Championships slated for June also moved to 2021, many athletes are now struggling to cope financially.
The track season was supposed to start on 17th of April with the Diamond League in Qatar but that, like all but one of the first eight meets, has been indefinitely postponed, which leaves athletes with the task of maintaining focus when return dates for competition are so unclear.
Many athletes are now thinking of two main things – outstanding Olympic qualification and how to survive financially; as they mostly earn their income through sponsors, prize money and/or bonuses from races (dependent on placing and speed), and appearance fees.
Already mindful that athletics is not as lucrative as some sports, Okagbare points out that her income is reduced when she is unable to compete, in contrast to the incomes of sports people on annual contracts.
Okagbare confessed to BBC Sport: “When it comes to athletics, compared to other sports, we are broke. Football is very glamorous, and the players make a lot of money. For what I do for a living, I can’t sit on the bench and be paid money – but a footballer can.
“Being an athlete is all we know, all we do – it is our life. So when things like this happen, it is like a shock. Not knowing what is going to happen is the hardest part in this whole situation for me. If I want to make money, I have to show up and compete.
“There are some competitions where if you false start, you don’t get your appearance fee, or you get half if you don’t finish the race.”
