Team Nigeria’s efforts at Paris 2024 have been a mixture of historic feats and disappointing reversals. The Games have seen the conquest of new frontiers by Nigerian athletes in basketball and athletics but also witnessed a number of administrative mishaps and first-round elimination in many events. All this and more is reviewed in this general overview of the ups and downs of the Parisian campaign by Team Nigeria.
No African nation, male or female, had ever advanced to the Olympic quarterfinals. Kalu scored 21 points Wednesday, and Nigeria beat Canada 79-70 to clinch a spot in the elimination round in Paris. It’s a moment that wasn’t lost on the team—or, really, the greater African basketball community. In celebrating the win, the Nigerian team danced at midcourt, recording the moment and taking pictures with fans and each other.
Coach Rena Wakama beamed with pride over her team, rejoicing in an unreal experience but particularly pointing out what lay ahead:. The Nigeria journey to the Olympics started out with the shocking win against Australia, marking a long-awaited first Olympic win within a two-decade time span—a period that saw the team struggling following up with a winless showing at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and missing the 2022 World Cup due to problems from internal infighting between the basketball federation and the government. The Nigerian team remains stable in this resurrection, never-give-up mantra, as it takes on the U.S., the reigning Olympic champions, in the final game of the quarterfinals at Bercy Arena.
Coming into the competition, D’Tigress remained the big hope, but performances of Team Nigeria have been woeful, as athletes crashed out of 10 events entered so far. This came with a blow as Cynthia Ogunsemilore was suspended after testing positive for a banned substance ahead of her opening fight in the boxing competition. Her hopes were dashed by Olaitan Olaore, who lost 5-0 to Oralbay Aibek of Kazakhstan, killing all expectations of the country in boxing. The men’s and women’s table tennis singles did not fare better, as Aruna Quadri and Omotayo Olajide both lost their first matches 4-3 and 4-1, respectively, while Offiong Edem and Fatimo Bello lost 4-0 in their respective matches.
In badminton, there was no impressive outing for Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori in the men’s singles, who lost both his first and second group matches—a sign of the general sorry situation of the nation’s athletes. The Super Falcons really had a very tough run in football, losing all three matches of their group to Brazil by 1-0, Spain 1-0, and Japan 3-1. Swimming was of little comfort as Tobi Sijuade placed third in his heat in the men’s 50m freestyle in 23.34 seconds while Adaku Nwandu, who finished second in her heat in the women’s 50m freestyle in 26.62 seconds, did not make the final.
In athletics, there was a tale of disappointment and some near misses. The men’s 100m saw Godson Oghenebrume fail to compete after qualifying, and in the women’s event, Favour Ofili was omitted because of some administrative mishaps, while Grace Nwokocha and Rosemary Chukwuma failed to go past the heats. Temitope Adeshina leaped to 1.88m to finish 9th in Group B of the women’s high jump. The mixed 4x400m relay did not make the final, although they set a new national record of 3:11.99. The trio of Ashley Anumba, Chioma Onyekwere, and Obiageri Amaechi did not make it past the first round in the discus, while Chukwuebuka Enekwechi finished 5th in the men’s shot put with 21.42m. These results show the odyssey that Team Nigeria has been going through, which clearly reserves improved sports administration and support as a very necessary ingredient if athletes are to excel in international competitions.
Though the overall assessment was a disappointment, some individual milestones were worth cheering for. Ezekiel Nathaniel became the third Nigerian to reach the semifinals of the 400m Hurdles at the Olympics. The 21-year-old booked his place for the Paris 2024 Games after settling in second place in heat 4 with a time of 48.32s for automatic qualification. This was the fourth fastest time Nathaniel has run in this event, which underscores his brilliant form. He became the third Nigerian to qualify for the final at the championships, following in the footsteps of Amaechi Morton, who did so at the London 2012 games, and the legendary Henry Amike at the Los Angeles 1984 games.
It gets tougher for Ella Onojuvwevwovwo and Esther Elo-Joseph, both finishing sixth and seventh in their respective heats of the women’s 400m, and return Tuesday to make it through to the semifinals via these additional Repechage rounds.
Internationally, Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser topped heat 1 of the women’s 400m in 49.91s ahead of Jamaica’s Stacey Ann Williams and Andrea Miklos of Romania. In fact, Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland started off tremendously well in Heat 6 and is a sleeper in the medal chase. Incidentally, both Naser and Adeleke are of Nigerian heritage.
Chidi Okezie did not get into the semifinals of the men’s 400m, finishing fifth in the second heat of the Repechage round. His form notwithstanding, though, he remains a key component of Nigeria’s men’s 4x400m relay team. Samuel Ogazi became, at 18, the first to make the 400m semifinals and brought some cheer into the Nigerian campaign in track and field.
Another great moment was when Blessing Oborududu qualified for the Women’s Freestyle 68kg category semifinals at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 35-year-old Nigerian wrestler sealed her place with an 8-2 win against Canada’s Linda Morais at the Champ-de-Mars Arena on Monday. She had started with a 6-2 victory over Koumba Larroque of France.
Oborududu, a 15-time African champion, became the first Nigerian to win an Olympic silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Now, she sets her sights on another Olympic podium finish in the 68kg class. Next up against her is Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan. The 6th-ranked Oborududu will fight the 16th-ranked Olympic bronze medalist in the semifinals at 8 p.m.
This was a great performance taken off the back of her coming first at the 2024 Seniors African and Oceania OG Qualifier. With this passage to the semis, Oborududu is assured of a medal at the Paris Olympic Games.
Team Nigeria’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics has been such a mixed bag. History-making moments in basketball and individual milestones in athletics and wrestling gave their share of cherished moments, but the early exits and administrative lapses made a dent in the general performance. Experiences from the games underline what is required in terms of better support and organization that Nigerian sports need to unleash full potentials on the global sports platform.
SOURCES
- https://apnews.com/article/2024-olympics-nigeria-africa-da4776dd10705e0c3a343e948f699ea4
- https://leadership.ng/paris-olympics-team-nigerias-medal-hopes-dimmed-bow-out-of-10-events/
- https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/721242-paris-2024-ezekiel-nathaniel-becomes-third-nigerian-to-reach-400m-hurdles-olympic-semifinals.html
- https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/721356-just-in-paris-2024-nigerian-wrestler-advances-to-semifinals.html
