20 •
The Lion King
• July - September 2017
Cover
Unfortunately He was not to make
the Junior championships represent-
ing Ireland because he wasn’t Irish.
They tried to fast track his Irish citizen-
ship but it didn’t quite work out. They
had heard about this in Nigeria and
wanted him to once again represent
his country. Lady luck was not on his
right arm this time because it was just
two weeks to the championship and
he was unable to get a Canadian visa
to travel to the games. ‘It was too late
for me to go to Canada even though I
had qualified. I cried as I watched the
games on TV. I would not be able to
go to the world junior championship
ever again.’
Seye was going to be too old at the
next championship to compete as
a junior. He was disappointed with
Ireland and decided to move to
England to study.
Fast track to age 18. He was a student
of Politics and Law at Essex University
in England. ‘I had applied to all the
schools that did sports and they all
rejected me, but Essex offered me a
place. I don’t know what kept pushing
me. World junior championships was
over. I could have just gone to Essex
and enjoyed my life as a university
student’.
But this was not to be. Seye found
a Sierra Leonean called Prince
who would become his coach for
the next couple of years. ‘Prince
agreed to coach me for free because
he believed I had talent. I used to
travel on Tuesdays and Thursdays to
Chelmsford to train. I would get the
bus 61 from Colchester to the train
station to Chelmsford at 5.15 am. I
would start training at 7 am for 2 hours
and then go back to school in time
for classes which started at 10. I never
went out. I didn’t party. I didn’t have
a social life. I was just training and still
didn’t know what I was training for’ he
reminisced.
It dawned on him whilst he was
watching Usein Bolt run. My friend
Deji Daranijo looked at me and said
“ Seye do you think you can make
the Olympics?’ I said I would try. I
made myself what I called vision 2012.
I wanted to qualify for the Olympics
in 2012.’
That same year, he was invited to
Calabar for the Common Wealth
games trials. But he didn’t qualify this
time. ‘I just wanted to try my best.
Because Prince and I hadn’t done
any hamstring work, I was not strong.
I was skinny, lean and fast. I didn’t
know what I was stepping into. I got
knocked down in the race and pulled
my hamstring.’ Seye had done 10.82
and came 30th. This didn’t stop the
determined young man.
‘I went to the Nigerian President of
the Athletics Federation and told the
officials I was the next best thing and
they needed to invest in me. I was just
19 years old. They looked at me like
who is this dude that came in 30th and
ran 10.82”.
They didn’t listen to Seye understand-
ably. But his vision 2012 was still on
course.
He went back to school after the
summer in Nigeria and started train-
ing everyday. ‘ I needed to make the
Olympics the following year. I would
pass the Stratford stadium everyday
on my way to school and say to myself
that I will run in that stadium one day’.
Essex University paid for Seye and his
coach to go to training camp in Los
Angeles that year. His parents had
begun to buy into his vision and also
invested in that trip.
‘In LA, my first race, I ran 10.52. A
windy 10.52. The coach at training
camp asked me if I was happy. I said
No I wasn’t. that wasn’t me”.
Seye went on to the Azuza Pacific
race. ‘It was a scorching LA heat that
day. 30 degrees. I will never forget. My
coach said this was the day. That was
the day it was going to happen.’
It was indeed the day It would
happen. He ran 10.33. ‘I went out
there and ran 10.33’ that was what
changed everything. Everyone went
wild. People were asking who is this kid
that came from 10.82 to 10.33’
Then the people that mattered started
talking to Seye. He was again invited
to the Nigerian trials.
