Hannah Reuben, Nigeria’s last hope, on Saturday lost her second-round women’s freestyle wrestling match 5-2 to Mongolia’s Davaanasan Amar Enkh, sealing the country’s worst Olympic outing since London 2012.
For the eighth time in Olympic history, Nigeria’s athletes will return home empty-handed, as Team Nigeria concluded its Paris 2024 Olympic campaign without a single medal on Saturday.
A total of 88 athletes featured across 12 sports for Nigeria at the Paris Olympic Games.
Hannah Reuben, Nigeria’s last hope, on Saturday lost her second-round women’s freestyle wrestling match 5-2 to Mongolia’s Davaanasan Amar Enkh, sealing the country’s worst Olympic outing since London 2012.
Nigeria’s Olympic struggles date back to Helsinki in 1952, with subsequent disappointments in Melbourne in 1956, Rome in 1960, and a brief respite at Tokyo in 1964, where Nojeem Mayegun won Nigeria’s first Olympic medal. The drought continued in Mexico City 1968, Moscow 1980, and Seoul 1988, before the latest disappointment in Paris.
Despite the lack of medals, there are positives to build upon as the countdown to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games begins.
Nigeria showed improvement in athletics, with six finalists, up from four in Tokyo 2020 and two in Rio 2016.
Favour Ofili, who was inexplicably excluded from the 100m event, made history as the first Nigerian woman to reach the 200m final since Mary Onyali achieved the feat at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.
Also, the 18-year old Samuel Ogazi became the first Nigerian man to reach the 400m final since Innocent Egbunike’s 1988 feat at the Seoul Olympics.
The Long Jump Trio of Ese Brume, Ruth Usoro, and Prestina Ochonogor also made history as the first time three Nigerians reached the final in one event.
Additionally, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi finished sixth in the Shot Put event final, a notable achievement.
These achievements and a handful of others offer a glimmer of hope for Nigeria’s Olympic future as the country will try to build on them and break its medal drought in Los Angeles in 2028.
