The Nigerian team concluded their Paris 2024 Olympics campaign without winning any medals, despite fielding 88 athletes across 12 different sports.
This performance mirrored their disappointing result at the 2012 London Olympics, where they also failed to secure any medals. The Minister of Sports, Senator John Enoh, labeled the outcome as a “disaster” and pledged to take measures to avoid such results in the future.
However, while Team Nigeria left empty-handed, athletes of Nigerian descent still made their mark by winning medals for other countries.
Here are five athletes of Nigerian origin who won medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics:
Yemisi Ogunleye (Germany)
Yemisi Ogunleye claimed the gold medal in the women’s shot put at the Paris Olympics on Friday, with a winning throw of 20.00m on her final attempt. This victory made her the first German to win the shot put event in 28 years, since the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Ogunleye was born in Germany to a Nigerian father from Ekiti and a German mother. After her win, she acknowledged her diverse heritage in a viral video where she sang a Yoruba gospel song.
Annette Echikunwoke (United States)
Annette Echikunwoke, who previously represented Nigeria, won an Olympic silver medal in the women’s hammer throw, competing for the United States. Echikunwoke was disqualified from competing in the hammer throw at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) failing to conduct the required drug tests for athletes. The 28-year-old, who holds the African record in the hammer throw, expressed her joy, saying, “I’m happy it’s happening now. Everything happens for a reason, even if it’s bad or good or ugly. But this is beautiful.”
Samu Omorodion (Spain)
Born in Melilla, Spain, to Nigerian parents, 20-year-old forward Samu Omorodion played a key role in Spain’s Olympic gold medal win in men’s football. Spain defeated host nation France 5-3 in extra time in the final. Omorodion, who is set to sign for Premier League side Chelsea from Atletico Madrid, scored once in the tournament, during a group stage match against Egypt.
Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain)
Nigerian-born sprinter Salwa Eid Naser won silver for Bahrain in the women’s 400m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She finished with a time of 48.53 seconds, just behind Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, who set a new Olympic record with a time of 48.17 seconds. Naser, formerly known as Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu, was born in Onitsha, Anambra.
Michael Olise (France)
Michael Olise, born in England to a Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother, also made a mark at the Paris 2024 Olympics. His younger brother, Richard, plays for Chelsea FC in England.
