Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to developing young athletes to become world record holders.

Governor Obaseki revealed this while playing host to three former Nigerian athletes and Olympians, who were on a courtesy visit at the Government House, in Benin City.

The three Olympians, Dr. Godwin Obasogie (Hurdle – 100 meters), Dr. Bruce Ijirigho (100 meters) and Charlton Ehizuelen (Long jump) were in the company of the Chairman of Edo State Sports Commission, Yusuf Ali, who himself, is a former world champion.

Speaking on the sports development policy of the state government, the governor said the focus is on discovering young athletes through the school sports programme, which will create opportunities for young people in the state to nurture their talents to stardom.

He commended the three Olympians for their exploits during their sporting days, saying the state government is honoured to have them in the state and would be glad to leverage on their heroics to promote its sports development programme.

Obaseki also said that they would be made patrons of some of the sports associations in the State.

The governor endorsed the proposal of having the class of 1971 athletes team reunion in December this year and the inaugural edition of the Edo/Delta State Annual Competition for secondary schools to be staged next year on a rotational basis between Edo and Delta state governments, presented by the trio.

In their response, the Olympians commended the governor’s exceptional commitment to developing sports infrastructure in the state.

Hailing the revamp of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and other infrastructure in the State, Obasogie said, “The Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium is world class and has standard facilities that can be compared to anywhere in the world. The facilities are excellent.”