Ogunode confident he can challenge Bolt in Rio

By Satya Rath/DohaWhen Femi Ogunode talks, you have to listen. Yes, sometimes he talks big, but most of the time he makes sense. He not just exudes confidence, but manages to rub some of that confidence on you. And most importantly, more often than not, he proves what he says with his exploits on the track.When the Nigerian-born Qatari sprinter—soon after winning the Asian Games 100m title in 9.93 seconds in Incheon, South Korea, last year—famously declared that he will outsprint Usain Bolt to gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, eyebrows were raised. A year hence, he still sticks to his stance, despite a not-so-memorable outing at last August’s World Championships in Beijing. “I trust in myself, I believe in my abilities, I have faith in God. Bolt is a great sprinter, one of the best we have seen in a long time, but he’s definitely beatable. If I am at my 100%, I am confident I can give him a good run,” he told Gulf Times, with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what he is saying.What, then, went wrong at the World Championships? “I was not fully fit, I was around 60%. Considering my physical state, I was happy with what I achieved. My target now is Rio 2016. An Olympic medal is a dream I have been nurturing since long, and I am confident I will get it next year. If not the gold, at least the silver…”Barring the Beijing Worlds, the 24-year-old has had a stellar 2015 season, and has been uncatchable, at least in Asia.He set an Asian record in winning the 100m in 9.91 seconds at the Asian Championships in China in June. The earlier record of 9.93, set at last year’s Incheon Asian Games, also stood in his name. Three months later, he set another Asian record by winning the Brussels 200m race in 19.97, in the process improving upon his earlier mark of 20.06. He made the finals of both 100m and 200m at the Beijing Worlds in August. In fact, it’s been a steady improvement since he made his debut for Qatar at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. Only 19 at the time, he made the world sit up and take note when he won the 200m-400m double in what was his first major international event. He repeated the feat at Incheon four years later by winning the 100m-200m double. In between, he kept winning races in GCC events and the World Military Games. And all the time, he has been beating his own timings.“I have said it before, and I am saying it again, that the best decision I ever made was to come to Qatar. There’s so much politics in the Nigerian sports set-up. I would have been a nobody had I not taken the call to come here. “I have been provided with the best of training and facilities, the Qatar Athletic Federation has backed and supported me all along, I couldn’t have asked for more,” he says.When the QAF offer to attend the trials in Doha came in 2009, Ogunode didn’t even have the money to book his tickets. Today he drives around the city in a customised Hummer. He also owns a Land Rover and a Chrysler. His four brothers—the youngest is also a promising sprinter--live with him in Doha, while his three married sisters and mother stay in Nigeria.For someone who aspires to be the world’s best sprinter, Ogunode, strangely, has no idols. “No, I don’t idolise anyone. If there’s someone I have always looked up to, it’s my father. He was my pillar of strength, he taught me to take life’s hardships head-on, he always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Though he passed away last year, I can still hear his voice encouraging me every day and that has kept me going.”A soft-spoken easy going guy off the track, Ogunode says he becomes a different entity altogether once he’s in the zone. “Once I am on track, I become a tiger. I just focus on one target, to become the first to cross the finish line. I never look at my rivals, I never think of their reputations. I am just myself. I don’t believe in the word impossible, I think if you believe in yourself, if you believe in your abilities, you can reach your goal, and my goal is to become the world’s best sprinter,” he says.The Rio Games might be sometime away, but Ogunode has already begun his preparations under the guidance of American coach Dennis Mitchell in the US. “He’s the kind of coach who never forces or tries to impose himself upon you. Rather, he focuses on your strong points and works on further improving those areas. I feel I am a much improved athlete since I began training with him,” says the Qatari sprinter of Mitchell, who also trains Justin Gatlin.Ogunode’s sole focus is on getting a medal at next year’s Olympics. “Yes, I will leave no stone unturned to make the podium. I feel I can run 9.7 or 9.6 in 100m, or better even. I will also run the 200 in Rio, where I hope to raise my bar to 19.5. I won’t be running many races next year, but will pick and choose, per my coach’s advice. I hope to put Qatar’s name on the Olympic podium. And I am confident I can do it.”