Nigeria’s amazons set to light up Paris 2024
Since Clarice Ahanotu (100m, 200m) and Amelia Okoli (high jump) became the first women to represent Nigeria at the Olympics in 1964, not only has the number of women donning the colours of Nigeria at the world’s foremost sporting event increased in participation and across other sports, they have gone on to achieve many memorable moments for the country. OLUWAMAYOMIKUN OREKOYA writes
From Chioma Ajunwa maiden gold medal for the country at the Long Jump in Atlanta 1996 – to Mary Onyali and her teammates’ over exuberant celebrations after the quartet clinched the bronze medal at the 100m relays in Barcelona 1992, Nigerian women have lighted up the global stage for the country.
Coincidentally, Nigeria’s two medals at the last edition in Tokyo were won by women. Ese Brume, who has also qualified for the Paris games, won a bronze medal at the Long Jump event while the eternal Blessing Oborodudu won a silver in wrestling, Nigeria’s first medal at the event.
There were no women in the first three Olympics games Nigeria participated but since Clarice Ahanotu and Amelia Okoli’s maiden appearance in 1964, the number of women participants has grown in leaps and bounds.
As at the time of writing, out of the 54 Nigerians on the plane to Paris, only nine are men. While basketball and football take a large chunk of women participants only athletics (five men, four women) and boxing (two men, one woman) has men having more numbers. There would be no male athlete representing the country at the Taekwondo, weightlifting, cycling and canoeing events.
Football
The Super Falcons of Nigeria recently secured their tickets to play at the 2024 Olympics after a 16 year absence from the tournament.
They have been drawn in the same group with Spain, Brazil, and Japan, and will be hoping to deliver an exciting performance in a group that has been labelled as a group of death.
The Super Falcons have been unbeaten in their last eight games, winning three games and drawing two in their last five games.
Despite being unbeaten in their last eight games, Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum believes the 11-time WAFCON champions still need to improve.
“I certainly think there’s things we can do better,” The American said.
“You know, I think between coaching staff, between the NFF, I think we could just get a little bit more support in some of the areas that we need it. Then I think this team, as I said, after the World Cup, can be one of the best teams in the world”.
Basketball
The national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, are poised for their second consecutive appearance at the Games after participating in the 2020 Tokyo edition and would need to work very hard to excel in their Group B which includes the host France Canada and Australia.
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The President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), the governing body for basketball in Nigeria, Musa Kida recently disclosed that the team will have adequate preparation ahead of the summer Olympic games, adding that there were plans for three phases of camping for the Nigerian girls.
“There would be reparation camping in Nigeria to Ghana with the pool that we have within the country.
“The second camp will be in the US for the people who are playing in the US and the environments there. And then the last part of the camp which would be for the selected team basically.
“So we have three phases that we are looking at. And I think with that kind of preparation, we do hope that our performance will be more outstanding than the last time that we went to the Olympics,” he said.
Canoeing
For Beauty Otuedo, her journey in canoeing has been far from easy.
The Bayelsa State-born canoeist started her journey in 2015, but a bout of depression connected with the sport had her quit for two years.
But in 2018, with the help of her elder brother Goodluck Gbamire as her coach, Otuedo decided to give canoeing one last shot and her perseverance was rewarded with victory at the Canoe Sprint African Olympic Qualifier in November.
“I participated in several national competitions including the African Admiral Porbeni Event and won bronze,” Otuedo told Olympics.com of her comeback.
Competing alongside Ayomide Bello, the Nigerian duo took just 2.24.45 seconds to seal top spot in the women’s C2 500m category on home water at Jabi Lake, securing an Olympic quota for Paris 2024.
“I am so happy achieving this,” Otuedo said after. “The time I recorded in most of the events wasn’t my best. I believe the lack of training ahead of the competition affected me but God was kind and we qualified”.
A born fighter, Otuedo firmly believed in going the extra mile to achieve her Olympics dreams and had to use her own funds in order to keep training.
Despite not being able to secure external funding, the duo stepped up to secure a C2 Women’s 500m Olympic quota despite their very limited training opportunities.
“Otuedo is a strong girl and a reliable partner. This wasn’t our first time competing in C2 500M and I am glad God came through for us” Bello said.
“Otuedo is a very obedient athlete when it comes to training and she listens,” Ebenezer Ukwunna, Technical Director of the Nigeria Rowing, Canoe & Sailing Federation, said.
Olubunmi Ola-Oluode, Secretary General of the Nigerian Rowing, Canoe and Sailing Federation (NRCSF) concurred.
“Otuedo is calm and collected, a go-getter, and a driving force,” she added.
Cycling
In the 19th Confederation of African Cycling African (CAC) Road Championships in Accra, Ghana last year, Ese Ukpeseraye became the first Nigerian to qualify for an Olympic Cycling event when she won the gold medal in the Elite Women Road Race.
The Delta-born cyclist beat 47 other cyclists in the 72km race with a time of 2 hours and 36 minutes ahead of Bamago Awa of Burkina Faso and Lucie De Marigny Lagessa of Mauritius who picked the silver and bronze respectively.
She would go on to win a silver and bronze medal at the recent Africa Games also held in Accra.
Wrestling
In the wrestling event, out of six Nigerian wrestlers that earned Olympic qualification, five are women. The women would be led by Odunayo Adekuoroye who is almost certain of a podium finish as she is currently among the top wrestlers in the Women’s 57kg weight class. The three-time Commonwealth Games champion would be joined in Paris with Blessing Oborodudu (68kg); Hannah Reuben (76kg) Esther Kolawole (62kg) and Christiana Ogunsanya (53kg).
Former Olympic Gold medallist and President of Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), Dr Daniel Igali confirmed that Nigeria is the only country that has five female players qualifying for Paris 2024 and ensured Nigerians that the board is focused on an eventful tournament, adding that to win gold medals with the wrestlers at the Olympics would be the icing on the federation’s cake.
“The board of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation is working hard to have an eventful outing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Igali said in Lagos in a recent interview.
“It would be a thing of joy to see a Nigerian win gold and our national anthem played. We will keep working for the growth of the sport,”
Boxing
Cynthia Ogunsemilore will become the second Nigerian woman to earn a qualification spot for an Olympics, after Edith Ogoke at London 2012. The 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist was unbeaten at the Olympics qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal after winning the final against Algerian Khelif Hadjila, performances that went above and beyond her own expectations.
“After the Commonwealth Games, I said, ‘if my country should call me for the Olympics Qualifier, I was sure I would qualify.’
“And after winning the Trials I promised that I would come here not to play but to qualify and show that I am not the type of girl they thought I was and that there are people from Bariga that are good and talented.”
Securing an Olympic qualification berth as a finalist in her weight category was a thrill of her lifetime.
“I had it in my dreams that I wanted to go to the Olympics, and I wanted to be an Olympian….but you know, I always thought I would just be picked and go to the Olympics direct. Not knowing that I was going to face some challenges in and out of the ring.
“In Paris, I now believe I can be the Olympic champion. I will go back home and train even harder.”