November 23, 2024
Paris 2024 Olympics- Nigeria’s quest for Olympic glory at the ongoing Paris Games has suffered a significant setback, with several top medal prospects eliminated from the competition.
Despite participating in the Olympics since 1952, Nigeria has struggled to secure a substantial number of medals, lagging behind countries that joined later, including some from Africa.
The Olympics’ journey, which spans over seven decades, has produced 27 medals across 10 Olympic Games.
In recent days, five Nigerian athletes in table tennis, boxing, football, and badminton have been knocked out of contention, leaving only athletics and basketball in the hunt for medals.
This disappointing turn of events may come as a shock to new sports fans, but a look back at Nigeria’s Olympic history reveals a glimmer of hope. Sixsports takes a trip down memory lane to revisit Nigeria’s first medal rush at the Olympics.
The journey to medal collection began for Nigeria in 1964 when amateur Nojim Maiyegun won a bronze in Boxing. It was the first of the country, and it came four years post-independence.
The Lagos-born boxer represented Nigeria in the 71 kg men’s lightweight category during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Boxing became the forte
After a short hiatus, Nigeria made another podium finish at the Olympics with boxing as Isaac Ikhouria finished with a bronze medal in the 81 kg light-heavyweight category.
It was recorded at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.
During the 12-year wait, which consisted of 1976 and 1980, Nigeria failed to record a medal.
But there was a breakout for team Nigeria at the 1984 in Los Angeles.
For the first time, Nigeria won two medals in athletics and boxing.
Peter Konyegwachie won the first ever country’s silver medal in boxing in the men’s featherweight category, known as the 54-57 category.
The second medal was a bronze in athletics, the debut for Nigeria. The quartet of Sunday Uti, Innocent, Moses Ugbesien, and Rotimi Peters competed in the men’s 4 × 400-metre relay. Their historic moment set an African record of 2:59:32 that was broken 12 years later.
The progression continued four years later and it was in Barcelona that Nigeria shocked the world winning four medals.
The 1992 Barcelona Olympics saw a better Nigerian side than a shambolic display four years earlier in Seoul.
Boxing, which had become our forte, earned two medals from David Izonritei and Richard Igbineghu, who won silver medals in the men’s heavyweight and men’s super-heavyweight categories, respectively.
Athletic also got silver and bronze in different colours. First was the squad of Olapade Adeniken, Davidson Ezinwa, Chidi Imoh, and Ekiti-born late Oluyemi Kayode, who won silver. The quartet finished with a 37.98.
The women’s relay category also won bronze with the quartet of Beatrice Utondu, Faith Idehen, Christy Opara-Thompson, and Mary Onyali.
During the Olympics, both Kayode and Mary-Thompson were students at Brigham Young University in the United States.
No other Nigerian sports team has achieved as many medals as the athletes who competed that year.
Team Nigeria won six medals in Atlanta: two golds, one silver, and three bronzes. They won two golds in football and the long jump, a silver in the 4 x 400m relay, and bronzes in the 200 m, the 400m, and the super-heavyweight boxing class.
Nigerian athletes have had some success at subsequent Olympic Games, but they have not been able to match the medal haul from Atlanta.
Nigeria is yet to get the aura it received at Atlanta in 1996. If there was one history that hasn’t been broken yet in the country’s sports, it was the magic performed at Atlanta.
Nigeria won two golds, one silver, and three bronzes, for a total of six medals.
Aside from those accolades, Nigeria’s football team, known as the dream team, became the first African country to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
Firstly, Chioma Ajunwa became the first Olympian to win a gold medal for Nigeria, exactly 28 years ago today, August 2nd.
A day later, Nigeria’s dream team won a gold medal against star-studded Argentina and Brazil.
The women’s 4 × 400 m relay, which comprises Olabisi Afolabi, Fatima Yusuf, Charity Opara, and Falilat Ogunkoya, won Silver.
Ogunkoya also won individual bronze in the women’s 400-metre race, while Mary Onyali finished third in the women’s 200-metre race.
The productive outing in boxing continued, and Duncan Dokiwari won bronze in the men’s super-heavyweight class.
Nigeria has competed in six Olympics, including the seventh one at the ongoing event in Paris but the country is yet to win a gold in all its past outings since the 2000 event.
The era of the gold rush ended with the dream team’s historical moment in Atlanta.
The country’s last gold medal went to the quartet of Clement Chukwu, Jude Monye, Enefiok Udo-Obong, and BYU alumnus late Sunday Bada, 12 years after the competition.
The Nigerian side had earlier won silver, but the confession of USA athletes to banned substances elevated Nigeria.
Since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Nigeria has won a total of nine medals, five silvers, and four bronzes.
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