Meet Femi Ogunode Asia�s fastest man

Born in the Akoko area of Ondo State, South-West Nigeria, sprint-star Femi Ogunode is now celebrated as Asia�s fastest man.

Ogunode broke the Asian record of the men�s 100m at the Asian Athletics Championships as he ran a time of 9.91secs to lower his previously held record of 9.93 secs.

Speaking on his latest achievement, Ogunode, who was virtually frustrated out of Nigeria to the Middle East, stated on his Facebook fan page that he has all the reasons to celebrate his rise to fame and stardom.

When God gives you a reason to celebrate why won�t you��. I celebrate my victory after winning Gold and breaking the Asian record� the 24-year old said on Saturday as he again reflected on his awesome performance.

Interestingly, Ogunode who is now the fastest man in the world�s most populous continent started out as a boxer before switching to football and finally athletics in 2006.

Sadly, while Nigeria�s fortunes in men�s athletics is dwindling by the day on the home front and officials are doling out millions to recruit rejected America-based athletes who have failed to make any meaningful impact, the feat of Ogunode means that Nigerian men now own the record in the 100m�s men event in three top continents� of the world.

Olusoji Fasuba with a time of 9.85secs remains Africa�s fastest man ever while Portugal�s Francis Obikwelu holds the European record with his time of 9.86secs.

Femi moved to Qatar in October 2009 and began international competition the following year. He won the 100 metres and 200 metres at the West Asian Championships and was entered into the 2010 Asian Games. At the Games in Guangzhou he took two gold medals, winning over 200 m and 400 metres with personal bests of 20.43 seconds and 45.12 seconds, respectively. This made him only the second athlete in Games history to have won both events at the same competition � Milkha Singh first achieved this at the 1958 Asian Games.

He follows in the footsteps of Samuel Francis, another Nigerian sprinter who transferred to compete for Qatar.

He became the Asian champion in 200 metres, at Kobe, Japan. He equalled the Championships record (20.41 s) en route to gold. He then did even better at the World Military Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he completed a 100 metres and 200 metres double. He set new championship marks over both distances (10.07 and 20.46).

Ogunode served a two-year ban lasting until January 2014 for the use of the prohibited substance Clenbuterol. In September 2014 he won the 100 m event at the Asian Games setting a new Asian record at 9.93 s. He also won the 200 m gold at Incheon. He set a further Asian record at the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships by winning the 100 m in a time of 9.91 seconds, having already broken the championship record with a run of 9.97 seconds in the semi-finals.