Fashola’s Grassroots Sports Program In Lagos, ADAT Produces An Olympian, Ruth Usoro

Years after leaving office as the Executive Governor of Lagos State,  the name and the legacy of the incumbent Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, is still resonating in Nigerian sports.

One of the several sports programs he put in place during his eight years in office, Adopt-A-Talent-Sports Programme of Lagos State, popularly known as ADAT, has recently produced for the country an Olympian.

Ruth Usoro, born 8 October 1997 is a Nigerian athlete who competes at long jump and triple jump.

Usor, a student at Texas Tech University in the United State, on 26 February 2021, jumped 6.82m in the long jump to meet the qualifying standard for the delayed 2020 Olympic Games which holds in Tokyo, Japan next month. It was the second best jump in the world for the season and the 3rd best on the Nigerian all-time list alongside Ese Brume.

On 12 June 2021, she jumped 14.19m to win the triple jump at the win the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon. She also won the NCAA indoor title in 2021. Her personal best triple jump of 14.50 in Texas met the qualifying standard for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the triple jump and placed her in the top 10 in the world for the year.

Usoro was discovered and adopted in the Adopt-A-Talent Sports Programme between 2009 and 2015.

She one of the athletes the management of the programme started working with under Coaches Urhobo and the late Uremu Adu. She was then 9-10 years old. The coaches were mandated to develop her talents during former Governor Fashola’s tenure in one of his numerous grassroots sports developments interventions, the ADAT.

Prince Wale Oladunjoye, Senior Special Assistant on Grassroots Sports Development to Governor Fashola hosted Ruth and her parents to a reception at Yaba early on Thursday. This was an occasion for the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Usoro to say a big thank you to Governor Fashola through Prince Oladunjoye. Also, in attendance at the brief reception were Coordinating Consultant of the ADAT, Dr Niran Adeniji and Coach Joe Mensah and few other athletes.