Nigeria has concluded the 2024 Paris Olympics without securing a medal. Hannah Reuben’s loss in the Women’s Freestyle 76kg fight early Saturday, where she fell 5-2 to Mongolia’s Enkh-Amaryn Davaanasan in the round of 16, marked the end of the country’s slim hopes for a podium finish and capped off a disappointing performance for the West African nation.
Despite impressive results in qualifying events, Nigeria’s Olympic campaign fell short. The country participated in 12 events but, as in previous Games, was unable to convert its continental dominance into Olympic success.
A series of heartbreaking defeats and administrative issues have led to Nigeria returning home empty-handed. The last time this occurred was at the London 2012 Games.
Nigeria’s poor performance in Paris echoed past Games where the country also failed to win medals, including Helsinki 1952, Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, Mexico 1968, Moscow 1980, and Seoul 1988.
President Bola Tinubu had approved N12 billion for the Olympic and Paralympic campaigns, with N9 billion allocated for the Olympics and N3 billion for the Paralympics.
Team Nigeria had pinned its hopes on track and field events, a traditionally strong area for the country. Favour Ofili made history as the first Nigerian since Atlanta 1996 to reach the semi-finals of the 200m. Despite a season’s best of 22.05 seconds, she did not secure a podium finish.
In the 200m, Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike advanced to the semi-finals, while Ezekiel Nathaniel fell short in the 400m hurdles at the same stage. Nigeria’s 4x400m men’s relay team faced disappointment after being disqualified for a rule violation despite recording a season’s best time of 2:59.81 in heat 2. A lane infringement by one of the athletes resulted in the team’s disqualification and the subsequent advancement of South Africa.
World record holder Tobi Amusan was expected to medal in the women’s 100m hurdles. She performed well in the heat but was eliminated in the semi-finals after finishing third in her heat with a time of 12.55 seconds, which was not enough to advance as one of the best losers.
Although Ese Brume, Ruth Usoro, and Prestina Ochonogor reached the women’s long jump final, none won medals. It was the first time three Nigerians had reached this stage in the event.
Nigeria’s D’Tigress, while stopped in the quarter-finals, made history as the first African team (male or female) to reach the last eight of the Olympics. They lost to the US, 88–74, after a valiant effort.