BY GODWIN OBI
Nigeria has ended the 2024 Paris Olympics without a medal. Hannah Reuben lost her Women’s Freestyle 76kg fight early Saturday to effectively put the country’s slim hope of making the podium to rest. She lost 5-2 to Mongolia’s Enkh-Amaryn Davaanasan in the round of 16 tie, capping off a woeful showing for the West African nation.
Team Nigeria went to the Olympics on the back of some great performances in qualifying events. The country registered for 12 events, but sadly – like previous Games – failed to translate its continental dominance at the Olympics.
A series of heartbreaking losses and some administrative lapses have seen Nigeria return home without a medal. The last time that happened was at the London Games in 2012.
Nigeria’s poor showing in Paris was replicated in 1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome, 1968 Mexico, 1980 Moscow, and 1988 Seoul where the country won no medal.
President Bola Tinubu had approved N12 billion for the country’s outing at the Olympics and the Paralympics. N9bn was earmarked for the former while N 3bn was budgeted for the latter.
Tracks and Field Dreams In Tatters
Going into the Games, Team Nigeria had banked on tracks and field events, one of the country’s dominant areas, to rake in the medals.
Favour Ofili had made history as the first Nigerian since Atlanta 1996 to reach the semi-final of the 200m. Despite her season’s best of 22.05 seconds in the semi-finals, she could not make a podium finish.
In the 200m, Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike reached the semi-final while his compatriot Ezekiel Nathaniel also fell short in the 400m hurdles in the same stage.
Nigeria’s joy in the 4x400m men’s event was cut short after they were disqualified from the race for a violation of the rules. The quartet of Emmanuel Ojeli, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Dubem Amene, and Chidi Okezie finished heat 2 with a Season’s Best time of 2 minutes 59.81 seconds.
However, one of the Nigerians was said to have crossed lanes leading to the tripping of a South African athlete. The West African nation’s spot was thereafter given to South Africa.
Medal Hopefuls Disappoint
Before then, world record holder Tobi Amusan was primed to finish on the podium in hurdles. She had a strong showing in the women’s 100m hurdles heat. But that flicker of hope was extinguished after she lost in the semi-final of the event.
The Nigerian was third in her heat, finishing in a time of 12:55 seconds. She missed out on the automatic qualifying spots with her hopes of entering the final as one of the best losers also gone. That was because her time was insufficient to make the cut.
Even though Nigeria’s Ese Brume, Ruth Usoro, and Prestina Ochonogor made history by reaching the women’s long jump final, none of them came back with a medal.
It was the first time three Nigerians had reached that stage of the event.
A Bright Spot
Nigeria’s D’Tigress may have been stopped in the quarter-final of the Games, but they did make history in Paris. Coach Rena Wakama’s ladies became the first African side (male or female) to reach the last eight of the Olympics.
The D’Tigress lost gallantly to the US – 88–74 – after a spirited showing.
‘Immediate Attention’
In the wake of Nigeria’s shoddy outing at the Paris Olympics, the Minister of Sports Development John Enoh described the performances as a disaster, promising to address the issues leading to the nation’s failure in France.
“As we go back home, we must do everything to prevent future occurrences of the Paris disaster and if this will entail the review of how people are elected to lead our sporting federations, it will be done,” he wrote on X on Saturday.
“The elections for the federations are around the corner, and it will be the perfect platform to get only those who are most eligible to lead the various sports federations.
“Team Nigeria’s disappointing performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the country did not secure any medals does not entail being addressed just by our participation at the Olympics, but it is a product of very many other things that need immediate attention.”
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