By Akeem Lawal
NIGERIA’S Esther Tamaraebi Toko is set to make history at the Tokyo Olympic Games today when she becomes the first home based athlete to represent Nigeria in Rowing.
Sportsbiz247.blogspot.com reports that the event will take place between 24 and 31 July at the Sea Forest Waterway (Central Breakwater) in Tokyo Bay, a new venue constructed specifically for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The water is about 6 metres deep. The course is 2335 meters long and 198 meters wide. Each lane is 12.5 m wide. There are 8 lanes.
The 21-year-old Toko will compete in Lane 5 at the Women’s Single Sculls Heat 1 of the Rowing event against Klimovich Tatsiana of Belarus, KOHLER Kara of United States of America, Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Esraa of Sudan, Alonso Alejandra of Paraguay and Malaei Nazanin of Islamic Republic of Iran.
The first, second and third placed will progress to the Quarterfinal, while the remaining crews move to Repechage.
“I have prepared a lot for this even. So tomorrow (today), I am going to perform very well. I started in 2018 at the West African Games before I went to Tunisia for the qualification for the Olympics.
“I was so excited on the day of my qualification and I am very excited to be an Olympian.
“I want to thank everyone that have been supporting me and I urge them to keep supporting me tomorrow until the 30th,” Esther who trains at National Institute of Sports in Lagos before moving to Kisarazu Training Camp in Japan ahead of the Games said in an interview with NOC MEDIA.
Toko competed in the 2015 World Rowing Championships and the 2019 African Games. She won a bronze and a silver medal at the African Beach Games in Cape Verde in 2019.
Toko was then selected to be the first home-based rower to represent Nigeria at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She qualified to compete in the single sculls after coming third in the B-final at the 2019 FISA African Olympic Qualification Regatta in Tunisia.
A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand.
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