Olympics fiasco, Anthony Joshua’s defeat… 6 low moments for Nigerian sports in 2024

Like every other year in recent memory, 2024 was topsy-turvy for Nigerian sports. The country’s athletes produced nerve-wracking, jaw-dropping, cringe-worthy and disappointing moments across several sports. In this article, we will focus on the latter. 

From Team Nigeria’s abysmal outing and a wave of controversies at the Paris Olympics to the Super Eagles’ poor form in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and a slew of losses in combat sports — disappointing moments abound.

Here are six of those deep-sighing moments in Nigerian sports in 2024.

POOR OLYMPICS OUTING

Team Nigeria’s outing at the Paris Olympics produced zero medals. Nigeria had 88 athletes across 12 sports but could not secure any medals.

The outing was the country’s worst Olympic performance since London 2012. It was also the eighth time Nigeria returned from the Games with zero medals.

Some of the country’s biggest medal hopefuls failed to shine. Tobi Amusan did not make the final of women’s 100-metre hurdles despite being the world record holder. Ese Brume finished fifth in the women’s long jump, while Blessing Oborudlso ended her contest outside a podium place.

Aside from the below-par performance, the country also endured some controversies.

OFILI SAGA

One of Nigeria’s biggest controversies from Paris was the omission of Favour Ofili’s name from the women’s 100m starting list. Although the 22-year-old qualified for the competition, a mix-up in the registration process meant her name was left out of the event.

Ofili blamed the mix-up on the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN). She accused both organisations of “taking this opportunity from me”, adding that “neither organisation can ever be trusted in the future”.

In November, an investigative committee set up by the federal government identified two officials of the AFN whose alleged inaction led to the omission.

The panel faulted Rita Mosindi, the secretary-general of AFN, and Samuel Onikeku, AFN technical director, for negligence and poor judgement, respectively, at different stages of the fiasco.

The committee said AFN should pay Ofili N8 million “for the disappointment and depression that she suffered on account of her omission”.

CYCLIST BORROWED BIKE

In another controversy at the Paris Olympics, Ese Ukpeseraye, a Nigerian cyclist, revealed that she had to borrow a bicycle from her German colleagues to compete in the keirin and sprint cycling event.

Ukpeseraye made history as the first Nigerian cyclist to represent the country at the Olympic Games.

The 25-year-old said she was called up to participate in the second event on “short notice”, and had “no bicycle to race with on the tracks”. Consequently, the German team came to her rescue.

Her revelation triggered backlash on social media for the Cycling Federation of Nigeria (CFN) and the NOC.

AMUSAN FELL SHORT

The biggest disappointment for Team Nigeria at the Paris Olympics was Amusan failing to make the final of the women’s 100m hurdles.

The world record holder had been tipped as Nigeria’s main medal hope in the track events. True to form, she was impressive in the preliminary stages. The 27-year-old cruised into the semi-final with the second-fastest qualification time.

However, the semis were a painful experience for the 2022 world champion. She finished third in the first heat of the event’s semi-final, outside the two automatic qualification spots and was later beaten to the non-automatic slots by athletes in other heats.

ANTHONY JOSHUA’S HUMBLING LOSS

In September, Daniel Dubois knocked out Anthony Joshua in the fifth round of their IBF heavyweight bout.

It was a nightmare outing for Joshua, 34, as Dubois floored the former heavyweight champion thrice in the first three rounds before eventually finishing him off after 59 seconds in the fifth round.

The loss was Joshua’s fourth of his professional career, and it halted his resurgence after defeating Francis Ngannou earlier in the year.

ADESANYA’S DEFEAT TO DU PLESSIS

South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis defeated Israel Adesanya to retain his UFC middleweight title.

Adesanya was forced to tap out in submission with his neck locked in a rear-naked choke by Du Plessis in the fourth round of the bout.