3 months ago
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Team Nigeria’s failure to impress at the just-concluded Paris 2024 Olympics, despite parading 88 athletes, and spending over N9 billion in prosecuting the Games has brought back old memories, particularly the Atlanta ’96 Olympics.
Twenty-eight years ago, Falilat Ogunkoya made history by becoming the first Nigerian to win an individual medal in track and field at the Olympics. She also made history as the first and, so far, the only one to win two medals at the same Olympics.
Unlike the just-concluded Paris 2024 Games, where the Federal Government paid some athletes their training grants in the middle of the Games, the situation was different in the build-up to Atlanta ’96.
Athletics coach, Chief Tony Osheku, who tutored Ogunkoya to win the two medals at Atlanta ’96, revealed to Completesports that former FIFA Executive Committee member, Dr Amos Adamu, contributed hugely to the success while he was Director of Sports in the Federal Ministry of Sports.
Osheku narrated how Dr Adamu stopped Ogunkoya from competing in the European Athletics Circuit, to concentrate on her preparation for the Olympics.
According to Osheku, the whole story began after Ogunkoya broke 50 seconds for the first time in her career.
“It began at the Grand Prix, in Paris, precisely on June 28, 1996. She ran 49.89 to place second. On July 3 at the Grand Prix, in Lausanne, Switzerland, she placed second running another personal best- 49.60 seconds and Nigerians started taking special notice of her.
“It was at this point that Dr Adamu invited me to his office at the Tafawa Balewa Square, in Lagos, for a meeting. He said the Sports Ministry was ready to pay Falilat the appearance money that she usually gets so that she could stop competing in the circuit because they didn’t want her to burn out.
“We negotiated and I flew to Nice, France, to advise Falilat to stop competing. She won the meet with 50.00 on July 10, and that was her last meet before the Olympics. We flew from Nice to our base in the United States to resume training.
“After the training in Albuquerque, we left for Atlanta, a week later. At this point, I started talking to her about the Games, and that she was ready and capable of winning a medal. I told her that her training indicated that she was ready.
“Our preparation at the Games Village was 90 per cent psychology and 10 per cent physical. I told Falilat it was possible for her to be the first Nigerian to win an individual medal in track and field going by the schedule and the level of competition in some other events.
“She ran her first race on July 26 with a time of 52.65 seconds and on the 27th, she ran 50.65 to qualify for the semifinal. In the semifinal the next day (July 28) she ran a new 49.57 seconds personal best to qualify for her first Olympic final. And on the day of the final, Monday, July 29, 1996, I couldn’t eat right. During the warm-up, I was watching (Marie-Jose) Perec and Cathy (Freeman) on what they were doing.
“Lee Evans advised her to relax and to go out there to fight for a medal. The warm-up track was far from the stadium. Innocent Egbunike asked me if I was going to the Main Bowl of the stadium to watch the race and I said yes. I went inside and I didn’t open my eyes when the race started. I watched the replay to see her position. When I saw her position as third, I was speechless.
“A lot of people congratulated me. It was a good day for Africans because Davis Kamoga, of Uganda also won a bronze in the Men’s 400m.”
Osheku continued: “We could not rest Fatimah Yusuf and Falilat for the 4x400m heats because our heat was very strong. We made them run the heat.
“Winning another silver in 4X400m was a great achievement. A friend told me that I would be rich forever with the double medals Falilat won. This was (and still is) because some countries do pay their coaches if their athletes win medals.
“In Qatar, they promised to pay $250,000 to a coach if his/her athlete wins a bronze medal. I was disappointed that Nigeria didn’t give me a national award, Member of the Order of the Niger (MON). But all the football coaches that won gold medals got MON. Our athletes won gold, silver, and bronze and there were no awards for the coaches.
“The athletes got MON, plots of land, and other stuff. I only got a chieftaincy title in Ogun State, which I cherish till today…but it is unfair that coaches who did well to achieve Nigeria’s best showing at the Olympics were completely ignored.”
English (US) ·