Category — Nigeria

Finally. After previously posting about ten male Olympic flag bearers, it’s good to come across a woman flag bearer: judoka Vivian Yusuf of Nigeria. Yusuf is a silver medalist during the recently concluded African Judo Championships in Morocco and is the only judoka from Africa who is going to Beijing.

Nigeria-related posts:
Show Us the Money
Meet Our Idol: Nigerian President Umar Musa Yar’Adua
Nigeria’s Olusoji Fasuba on Yesterday’s Athletes Who Beg on the Streets, etc.
Country Report: Nigeria in Past Olympics and Predictions for Beijing 2008

Photo source: AFP via daylife

Nigerian athletes who, as we blogged about earlier, were “directed” by their President to produce eight gold medals in Beijing are not happy with the grants given them and have vowed to fight for more funding.

From the Sunday Tribune:

Apparently afraid of experiencing what athletes have had in the past as regards shabby treatment during international competitions, the athletes have made up their minds to fight the battle from home even before the start of the Olympics.

Tribunesports gathered that the athletes were hell bent on truncating the country’s chances of winning medals in Beijing unless there is an improvement in their welfare package before the commencement of the Games.

Shabby treatment? And then you expect them to produce eight gold medals? Our idol, Nigerian President Umar Musa Yar’Adua should look into this before it’s too late.

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The Olympian Blog has found its political idol. You can now rightfully accuse us of idolatry. Ladies and gentleman, met Nigerian President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, The Olympian Blog’s “Idol Extraordinaire”.

Why is he our idol, you ask? Because he directed/charged/ordered Nigeria’s Olympic athletes to win not less that eight gold medals during the Beijing Olympic Games.

So unlike timid national leaders who say, “We wish our country will have x medals” or “We are hoping for x medals” or the very lame “The important thing in the Olympics is to take part, its not the triumph but the struggle”, our idol raised his voice and said to his athletes: “Thou shalt win eight or more gold medals”.

Between wishy washy timid leaders and one who is like Moses, we really have no choice. We will gladly take the latter. Expectedly, the doubters are spreading their virus of doubt. According to our reliable source, a doubter supposedly said this:

“Where are the eight gold medals going to come from? Are they going to be stolen from other countries or is the minister thinking of counting the paralympic gold medals to be won by our disabled athletes?”

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The Sun News Online has a very interesting article on reigning 100 meters world indoor champion, Olusoji Fasuba of Nigeria. Here’s an excerpt:

On his world title win in Valencia, Spain: It was great to have won in Valencia. To think of the incidents that took place before the final, one would say that there was something to it.

First, I had a cut in my finger the day before the semi-final and thereafter, had a strain in the semi-final, which made me to be very scared.

My coach was very supportive. He took me to some Spanish physiotherapists, who helped me to get back to form for the final.

On his refusal to use drugs, even legal ones: After I was examined, I was told that it was a slight strain and nothing to really worry about. The doctor gave me a drug to take for relief, but I refused because I didn’t want anybody to accuse me of taking an enhancing drug.

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How will Nigeria fare in the 2008 Olympics? It will have its “best outing” ever according to a member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye.

What’s the basis of his optimism? Apparently, it’s the way the country’s National Sports Commission (NSC) has been preparing its athletes.

For the record, Nigeria registered its best Olympic performance during the 1996 Atlanta Olympiad where it bagged two gold medals courtesy of the men’s football team and Chioma Ajunwa who ruled the women’s long jump.

During the 2004 Olympics, Nigeria brought home two bronze medals courtesy of the men’s 4 x 100 meter relay team of Olusoji Fasuba, Uchenna Emedolu, Aaron Egbele, Deji Aliu who placed third in the and the 4 x 400 relay team composed of James Godday, Musa Audu, Saul Weigopwa, Enefiok Udo-Obong.

To date, Nigeria has won a total of 19 Olympic medals (2 gold, 8 silver, and 9 bronze) since it joined the Olympics during the 1952 Helsinki Olympiad.