Nwandu promises to be back, better after Olympic debut

Sixteen-year-old Nigerian swimmer Adaku Nwandu promised on Saturday in Paris to be back on the world stage soon and better for her country.

Nwandu, who turns 17 on 29th September, was born to a Nigerian father in Beijing, China, and could not go beyond the opening phase of her event at the ongoing 2024 Olympic Games on Saturday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the swimmer finished second in heat 6 of the women’s 50-metre freestyle event at the La Defense Arena in Paris.

But her result, a time of 26.62 seconds, was not good enough to take her to the semi-finals, as she was placed 34th among the 79 swimmers in the competition’s 10 heats.

“It is disappointing not to be able to move to the next round, where I can advance to be among those who will win medals.

”However, I am not that disappointed since this is my first time at this kind of event. I will be back,” Nwandu said.

She promised not to allow failing to advance to become a setback but a reference point for her to move forward.

”All I can say is that I will be back and better. I will not give up, and I will strive to be better than before and be among the world’s best,” Nwandu said.

NAN reports that competition for semi-final places in the event saw all swimmers in heats 7 to 10 placed ahead of Nwandu based on their times.

The 32 swimmers in those four heats—Nwandu, alongside Elizaveta Pecherskikh of Kyrgyzstan, who won the Nigerian’s heat with 26.26 seconds—were in the top 34.

The fastest 16 from these 34 advanced to the semi-finals, with the rest 45, all from heats 1 to 5, getting eliminated.

READ ALSO: UPDATED: Paris 2024: Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi, Ashe qualify for 100m semi-final

Meanwhile, John Enoh, the minister of sports development, acknowledged Nwandu’s efforts and congratulated her on her performance.

”I have confidence in her potential for future achievements,” he said.

NAN