It was mixed feelings for Anabel Orobosa Frank who expressed her sadness after her performance on Wednesday night fell short of winning a medal for Team Nigeria.
The Nigerian Shot Put champion let the big stage to overwhelm her despite qualifying to the final of the women’s event after finishing 5th in Group B with a throw of 16.27m.
At the final her 16.70m throw was far short of earning her a podium finish, as Sarah Mitton of Canada claimed gold, throwing a best score of 19.03m in her sixth attempt.
The Canadian edged Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd who finished second with 18.98m. While Maddison-Lee Wesche of Australia got the bronze medal with a throw of 18.84m.
“My debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham was nice as I competed against the best. It was also my first international outing for Team Nigeria.
“Didn’t expect what I did on Wednesday night, regardless it felt short of my performance and target. I saw from my and learnt a lot from them, I hope to go back and make a few amends. Maybe in next competitions I’ll do much better than my performance in Birmingham.
“I was a bit tensed during the final event as I saw some top Shot Put athletes whose videos I’ve been watching on social video platform YouTube. The weather didn’t help too.”
Frank did express optimism going into future championships strong with an eye on gold.
“Hope go back home to train harder, deal with stage fright and learn not to be overwhelmed at the big stage and keep my focus.
“I intend to come out strong with a winning plan in upcoming competitions.”
