TIMELINE: Maiyegun in ’64, Ajunwa in ’96… ALL Team Nigeria’s 27 Olympic medals

The 2024 Olympics is a day away. From July 26 to August 11, Paris will host the world’s biggest sporting event. The edition will be the first Olympics since the COVID-subdued event in Tokyo in 2021. To compensate for the pandemic-induced loss, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the French government considered some iconic features for the forthcoming competition. For the first time, the opening ceremony of the Olympics will not be held inside a stadium but on sailing badges on the Seine River at the heart of Paris. Also, the surfing event will be held in French Polynesia, over 15,000 kilometres from Paris, to reduce carbon emissions.

Nigeria will again be among the countries vying for medals. Since the country’s first Olympics appearance in Helsinki in 1952, Nigeria has had representatives at the subsequent tournaments except Munich in 1976, when the federal government pulled out in protest.

Nigeria’s first three Olympics outings produced no medal until the fierce Lagos Island-bred Najim Maiyegun punched his way to a bronze medal in Tokyo in 1964. The feat opened the country’s medal rush, and in Atlanta 1996, Nigeria won its first and second Olympic gold medals within days. Chioma Ajunwa became the first Nigeria to win an Olympic gold, and Nigeria’s men’s football team followed a few days later.

Nigeria has won 27 medals across 10 Olympic Games.

TOKYO 1964: BRONZE MEDAL IN BOXING

Najim Mayeigun was the first Nigerian to win an Olympic medal. The Isale-Eko-born pugilist was 23 when he took to the ring in Japan.

Omo Oloja, as christened by fans from the rugged downtown Lagos area, shocked the world in the second round of the light-middleweight category.

Mayegun defeated Great Britain’s William Robinson in just one minute and 59 seconds — a remarkable feat in amateur boxing.

He defeated Tom Bogs of Denmark in the quarter-final before losing to France’s Joseph Gonzalez in the semi-final.

Maiyegun and Poland’s Józef Grzesiak settled for the bronze in the light-middleweight boxing category.

MUNICH 1972: BRONZE MEDAL IN BOXING

Nigeria’s second-ever Olympic medal was another bronze in boxing, but the feat came eight years after the initial success.

Isaac Ikhouria won another bronze in the light heavyweight category.

LOS ANGELES 1984: SILVER MEDAL IN BOXING AND BRONZE IN MEN’S 4X400M

The next time Nigeria’s flag was set sail into the Olympic sky was another 12 years. Once again, boxing remained the country’s strongest sport at the games, and Peter Konyegwachie won silver in the men’s featherweight category — an improvement on the previous bronze-grade performances.

Nigeria also won its first-ever medal in athletics, as the quartet of Sunday Uti, Innocent Egbunike, Moses Ugbesien, and Rotimi Peters won bronze in the men’s 4×400 meters relay.

The team crossed the finish line at 2:59.32, setting an African record that stood for another 12 years.

BARCELONA 1992: FOUR MEDALS ACROSS BOXING AND ATHLETICS

After a woeful performance at Seoul in 1988, Nigeria rejigged its sports structure, and the result was three silver medals and one bronze at the subsequent Olympics.

As usual, boxing featured yet again. This time twice. David Izonritei and Richard Igbineghu won silver medals in the men’s heavyweight and men’s super-heavyweight categories, respectively.

Nigeria’s reputation as a growing force in global athletics was given another boost when both genders finished on the podium in their respective 4×100 meters relays.

The men’s team, which included Olapade Adeniken, Davidson Ezinwa, Chidi Imoh, and Oluyemi Kayode, won silver. At the same time, the women’s team, which included Beatrice Utondu, Christy Opara-Thompson, Mary Onyali, and Faith Idehen, took bronze.

ATLANTA 1996: TWO GOLD MEDALS, ONE SILVER AND THREE BRONZE

Nigeria’s performance at Atlanta 1996 remains the country’s highest mark at the Olympics. Team Nigeria won an unprecedented haul of medals: two gold, one silver, and three bronze.

On August 2, Chioma Ajuwa wrote her name in the history book and became the first-ever Nigerian to win gold at the Olympic games. She leapt 7.12 meters in her first attempt in the final. The mark was insurmountable and would be an African record for another 25 years until Ese Brume surpassed it in 2021.

A day later, Nigeria’s men’s football team defeated Argentina 3-2 to win another gold. The team comprised Nwankwo Kanu, Jay Jay Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Emmanuel Amuneke, and other footballers who became legends of Nigerian football.

The women’s 4x400m relay team won a silver medal. The team had Olabisi Afolabi, Fatima Yusuf, Charity Opara and Falilat Ogunkoya.

Ogunkoya also won individual bronze in the women’s 400 meters race, while Mary Onyali finished third in the women’s 200m.

The productive outing in boxing continued, and Duncan Dokiwari won bronze in the men’s super-heavyweight class.

SYDNEY 2000: ONE GOLD MEDAL AND TWO SILVER IN ATHLETICS AND WEIGHTLIFTING

Nigeria’s men’s 4×400 meters team finished second in the final behind Team USA. The team, which included Clement Chukwu, Jude Monye, Sunday Bada, and Enefiok Udo-Obong, was presented with silver at the event, but 12 years later, their medal was upgraded to gold.

Antonio Pettigrew, a US team member, admitted to the use of banned substances during the race and the IOC retroactively disqualified the Americans.

Gloria Alozie won silver in the women’s 100m hurdles, and Ruth Ogbeifo also took silver for Nigeria’s first-ever podium finish in weightlifting.

ATHENS 2004: TWO BRONZE MEDALS IN MEN’S RELAY

The previous medal rush thinned to a trickle at the Olympic Games in Athens. Only the men’s athletics relay team managed to nick medals for the country.

Olusoji Fasuba, Uchenna Emedolu, Aaron Egbele, and Deji Aliu won bronze in the men’s 4×100 meters.

The men’s 4×400 team made the podium for the second consecutive Olympics.

BEIJING 2008: THREE SILVER MEDALS AND TWO BRONZE

Nigeria won a second Olympic football medal in 2008 after losing to Argentina 1-0 in the final. The Argentine team was led by Lionel Messi.

Blessing Okagbare became a household name nationwide when she initially won a bronze medal in the women’s long jump. She finished behind Maureen Haggi of Brazil and Russia’s Tatyana Lebedeva.

Okagbare’s medal was upgraded to silver in 2017 after results revealed that Lebedeva had taken a banned substance during the contest.

The quartet of Franca Idoko, Gloria Kemasuode, Halimat Ismaila, and Oludamola Osayomi won a silver medal in the women’s 4x100m relay, while Chika Chukwumerije won bronze in the men’s 80kg Taekwondo contest. Mariam Usman also won bronze in the women’s 75kg weightlifting category.

RIO 2016: BRONZE IN FOOTBALL

Nigeria failed to win any medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, and the trend almost continued four years later except for the men’s football team’s brilliance.

The team led by Mikel Obi won a bronze medal in Rio 2016 after defeating Honduras 3-2 in the third-place match.

TOKYO OLYMPICS: ONE SILVER MEDAL AND BRONZE 

Blessing Oborududu became the first Nigerian to win a medal in wrestling at the Olympic games, winning silver in the women’s freestyle 68kg wrestling category.

Ese Brume also won a bronze medal in the women’s long jump event.

ALL TEAM NIGERIA’S OLYMPIC MEDALS