Team Nigeria concluded their participation in the Paris Olympics without securing any medals, marking a disappointing outcome for the country. The result prompts reflection on the performance and future strategies for the Nigerian sports program.
The 2024 Paris Olympics came to a conclusion for Nigeria with no medals won. Hannah Reuben’s defeat in the Women’s Freestyle 76kg bout on Saturday ended any chance of the country making it onto the podium, as she was eliminated from competition after losing 5-2 against Enkh-Amaryn Davaanasan from Mongolia during their round of sixteen match. This added to an overall dismal performance by the West African nation throughout these Olympic games.
Despite impressive performances in qualifying, Team Nigeria failed to replicate their continental dominance at the Olympics yet again. The country had registered for 12 events but couldn’t capitalize on their potential at the games.
Nigeria’s lack of medals at the Olympics has been a result of numerous heartbreaking losses and administrative oversights. The most recent occurrence was during the London Games in 2012.
Nigeria’s failure to perform well in the Paris Olympics was repeated in subsequent Olympic events including Helsinki (1952), Melbourne (1956), Rome (1960), Mexico City (1968), Moscow (1980) and Seoul, where Nigeria failed to win any medals.
Approval has been granted by President Bola Tinubu for a total of N12 billion to fund Nigeria’s participation in both the Olympics and Paralympics. Out of this sum, N9bn was designated specifically for the former event while an amount of N3bn had been set aside towards expenses related to the latter.
Team Nigeria had planned to rely on their dominance in tracks and field events to secure medals at the Games.
Having reached the semi-final of the 200m, Favour Ofili became the first Nigerian since Atlanta 1996 to accomplish this feat. However, despite her season’s best time of 22.05 seconds during the semi-finals, she fell short and did not make it onto a podium finish.
Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike made it to the semi-final in the 200m, but his compatriot Ezekiel Nathaniel didn’t make it past that same stage in the 400m hurdles.
Nigeria’s delight in the men’s 4x400m event was dashed when they were removed from the race due to a breach of regulations. Despite clocking a Season’s Best time of 2 minutes and 59.81 seconds, Emmanuel Ojeli, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Dubem Amene, and Chidi Okezie finished heat two under disqualification rules.
According to reports, a Nigerian athlete was responsible for crossing lanes which resulted in the fall of a South African runner. As a consequence, Nigeria lost its position and it was given to South Africa instead.
Prior to that moment, Tobi Amusan – the world record holder in hurdles – had been poised for a podium finish. She delivered an impressive performance during her heat of the women’s 100m hurdles. However, any glimmer of hope was snuffed out when she suffered defeat in the event’s semi-final round.
Finishing in a time of 12:55 seconds, the Nigerian placed third in her heat but failed to qualify automatically. Her chance of making it to the final as one of the best losers was also dashed because her timing fell short of meeting requirements for qualification.
Nigeria’s Ese Brume, Ruth Usoro, and Prestina Ochonogor made it to the women’s long jump final but unfortunately returned empty-handed without a medal. Their achievement was still historical nonetheless.
Three Nigerians had never before reached that stage of the event.
Following Nigeria’s disappointing performance at the Paris Olympics, Minister of Sports Development John Enoh referred to their efforts as disastrous and vowed to tackle the matters which caused the country’s downfall in France.
On Saturday, he wrote on X that we must take all necessary measures to prevent another Paris disaster from happening. This may include reevaluating the selection process for leaders of our sports federations.
With the federations’ elections looming, it presents a prime opportunity to elect only top-tier leaders capable of guiding their respective sports associations.
The absence of medals for Team Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympics is not solely a matter pertaining to our participation. Rather, it reflects various other pressing matters that require urgent attention.
