After 16 days of thrills, razzmatazz, glamour, and spectacular displays by athletes, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games came to an end grandiosely at the Stade de France on August 11, 2024. For the period the Games lasted, spectators and viewers globally were treated to spectacular, stellar, and breath-taking displays by global elites of athletes and sports men and women. Although the Games have come and gone, its impressions and memories will linger on forever for some and for a long time in the minds of others.
The modern Olympic Games, which began in Athens, Greece in 1896, is a quadrennial multi-sports event in which sports men and women converge in designated places to display their talents and compete for glory and honours in coveted medals of gold, silver and bronze. This year’s Olympic Games featured 329 events and 32 sports with about 10,714 athletes participating.
At the end of the Games, history was made in World and Olympic Records in various sporting events. The United States of America, as was expected by many, given its history of successes in the Olympic Games, came tops with 40 gold, 44 silver and 42 bronze, totalling 126 medals; closely followed by China with 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze, summing up to 91 medals. Four countries, Botswana, Dominica, Guatemala and Saint Lucia won their first ever gold medals at the Olympics.
For Africa, it improved on its 2020 Tokyo, Japan Olympic Games. It won 13 gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze, totalling 39 medals. Out of the 12 countries that made Africa proud with podium finishes, Kenya stood out with 11 medals – 4 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze. Other African countries were Algeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Tunisia, Botswana, Uganda, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde and Zambia.
Nigeria, our beloved country, was not left out of the Paris Summer Olympic Games. As a matter of fact, Nigeria has participated in every edition of the Olympic Games since 1952 – in Helsinki, Finland, except in 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. That year, Nigeria and more than 20 African and Arab countries boycotted the Games in protest against the inclusion of New Zealand for the Games, which had sporting links with South Africa, which was then an Apartheid regime.
Paris 2024 was a complete fiasco for Nigeria. It went with 88 delegates and participated in 12 sporting events – athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, football, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling. Sadly, Nigeria could not win a medal, no matter its colour.
Prior to the event, expectations were high that the country would put up spirited performances, especially in some events like boxing, weightlifting, track and field, including football. It was only in the female basketball event that D’Tigress made history by qualifying for the quarterfinal for the first time ever, before losing to eventual winners, the USA, 88-74. Knowing the history of the USA in basketball, both male and female, it is only fair to say that D’Tigress put up a great performance.
It was no surprise, therefore, that D’Tigress coach, Rena Wakama, was recognized as the best coach of women’s basketball at Paris 2024.
Overall, Nigeria’s trip to Paris Summer Olympic Games was a jamboree, having spent a whooping N9 billion for the failure. It is on record that Paris 2024 was the eighth Olympic Games Nigeria would participate in without winning a medal.
Ironically, while Nigerian contingent to the Summer Olympics displayed shambolic performances, some Nigerian descent made their adopted nations proud. They include Yemisi Ogunleye, Ekiti-born athlete, who won gold for Germany in the Shot Put event; Salwa Eid Nasir, Anambra-born athlete, who won silver in the women’s 400m event for Bahrain. Eid was born Ebelechukwu Antoinette Agbapuonwu but converted to Islam and also switched nationality in 2014. Also included were Annette Echikunwoke, who won silver for the USA in the hammer throw event, the first medal in that sport for the country; Samu Omorodion, who was part of Spanish side that won the men’s football event; Michael Olise, was part of the French football team that won silver; Omoruyi Loveth was part of the Italian team that won gold in the women’s volleyball event. There were some more. The question is: if these Nigerians could win medals for their adopted countries why did athletes who represented Nigeria fail woefully? Or were they afraid of winning, or is it the fact of standing on the podium to sing Nigeria’s new national anthem, failing which they stood the risk of going to jail in Nigeria, as the House of Representatives had proposed?
It would be a waste of time to set up Committees to look into why Nigeria put up a show of shame because that would lead to another extravaganza or fund wastage. Ross H. Perot said: ‘if you find a snake, just kill it; don’t set up a Committee on snakes.’ The next Olympic Games, which will take place in Los Angeles, USA, is only four years away. ‘Those who want gold must dive below’, John Dryden. Countries that want to make an impact, stand on the podium, give a salute to their nations, sing their national anthems and make their counties proud, have since commenced preparations. Nigeria cannot be left behind. Let those in charge begin work now to ensure Nigeria puts up good performance at the City of Angels in 2028.
Uwadia, a columnist and administrator, writes from Benin City
