by Rachel Ogbu

CNN’s Human to Hero series focuses on Nigerian sprinter, Obinna Metu this week.

At 10.11 seconds for his 100m distance,  Metu has been unbeatable over four seasons and has been dubbed Nigeria’s Fastest Man.

According to the CNN report:

“He’s been coached by two sporting greats- record-breaking distance runner Haile Gebrselassie and six-time Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt. Hoping to take on every scrap of their advice and win a medal at the Athletics World Championships he tells ‘Human to Hero’ that money is more important than talent for a young athlete – financial support is crucial to success…On his dream of breaking the world record, he said, “nobody knew that a world record could become 9.58. But Usain did it. Another Usain Bolt might come out, and I pray, let it be me, he concluded.“

Gebrselassie labelled Metu “a bundle of talent who has a very bright future because he is ready to learn”.

“I want people to be hearing my name, I’d love to be famous,” Metu told CNN’s Human to Hero series.

2I’m the fastest man in Nigeria and everybody’s looking up to me — they want to beat Obinna Metu,” he said.

“I’m unbeaten in the national trials for the past four years. I still need to do a lot of things to do to become a champion. My mental target is not to win national trials.

“It’s no longer any news to me, I don’t call it a victory. If I win I don’t celebrate that much.

“I’m looking forward to winning a medal at the World Championships or at the Olympic Games. That’s what I’m focusing on now.”

“My greatest achievement is that I’m an international athlete and a graduate,” he said.

“It’s something to boast of, because I don’t know about Western countries, but I do know about the African mentality.

“They always see sportsmen as people who don’t go to school — as a nuisance. People used to see sportsmen and women as uneducated, people who wasted their time.

“So I am proud to say, ‘OK, I’m able to combine sports and my educational career and combine them successfully’.

Watch the interview here: