Nigerian athlete killed in Sydney crash

The Nigerian killed when he was hit by a car in Sydney on Thursday was Olympic 400 metres runner Hyginus Anugo, athletics officials said.

First reports from Sydney had suggested that the victim, who was struck by a car as he crossed a road, was an official with the Nigerian Olympic team. Australian police did not immediately disclose the man's name.

But Nigerian Athletics Federation president Oluyomi Adeyemi-Wilson said in Lagos that the dead man was Anugo, 22, who was due to run in the 400 metres and was a reserve for the relay team.

"The news about Anugo's death was broken to the federation this afternoon by our secretary who called from the Nigerian Olympic camp in Sydney," Adeyemi-Wilson told Reuters in Lagos.

"It is very sad indeed. This has never happened in the history of this country," he said.