Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

sent a delegation to compete at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

from 9–25 February 2018. This marked the debut for the country at the Winter Olympics. The delegation consisted of three bobsledders, who finished 19th in the two-woman competition, and skeleton racer

Simidele Adeagbo Simidele Adeife Omonla Adeagbo, (born July 29, 1981 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Nigerian skeleton racer who competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She is Nigeria and Africa’s first female skeleton athlete. She was the first black female Ol ...

who came in 20th in the women's event.

Background

Nigeria first participated in the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in the 1952 Helsinki Games, but this was the nation's debut appearance at a

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

. The

chef de mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanent ...

for the Nigerian contingent was

Gbenga Elegbeleye Gbenga Elegbeleye (born October 1, 1964) is a Nigerian sports administrator and a politician. Gbenga Elegbeleye is the Director-General of thNational Sports Commissionin Nigeria. He was a legislator in the House of Representatives (Nigeria). Ba ...

and Dr David Olusoga Ogbolu. The Nigerian delegation to Pyeongchang consisted of four women: bobsledders

Seun Adigun Moriam Seun Adigun (born 3 January 1987, Chicago, Illinois) is a Nigerian–American bobsledder, and track and field runner who specializes in the 100 metres hurdles. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but did not qualify from her he ...

Akuoma Omeoga Akuoma Ugo Tracy Omeoga (born 22 June 1992) is a Nigerian–American bobsledder. She competed for the Nigeria contingent on the Nigeria bobsled team in the two-woman event at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Omegoa was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, ...

, and Ngozi Onwumere, and skeleton racer

. Onwumere was chosen as the flag bearer for the parade of nations during the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

, and Adeagbo was selected to carry the flag for the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

Bobsleigh

Nigeria qualified a

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

of three athletes in the two-women bobsleigh competition through the quota for continental representation.

was the driver of the sled, while

and Ngozi Onwumere served as breakwomen, only one of which could be in the sled at a time. All three were former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athletes, and all were born in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Adigun participated in all four runs, while Omeoga participated in the first two runs, and Onwumere in the last two runs. On 20 February, the first two heats were held, and the Nigerian sled posted times of 52.21 seconds and 52.55 seconds. After the first two heats, they were roughly 3.5 seconds behind the leader. The next day, in the third and fourth runs, their times were 52.31 seconds and 52.53 seconds respectively. Their final time was 3 minutes and 29.60 seconds, which placed them 19th (after one sled from the

Olympic Athletes from Russia Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

was disqualified for doping). * – Denotes the driver of each sled

Skeleton

Nigeria qualified one female skeleton athlete through the quota for continental representation.

is a Canadian native who spent her childhood in Nigeria. She went to university in the United States at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

, where she was part of the track and field team. She only took up skeleton racing in September 2017. Adeagbo is the first female athlete representing an African country to compete in skeleton, and she was 36 years old at the time of the Peyongchang Olympics. On 16 February, she posted run times of 54.19 seconds and 54.58 seconds, making her first day combined time 1 minute and 48.77 seconds. The next day, on her third run, she finished in a time of 53.73 seconds, and her fourth run was completed in 54.28 seconds. After four runs, her final time was 3 minutes and 36.78 seconds, which put her in 20th place.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nigeria At The 2018 Winter Olympics Nations at the 2018 Winter Olympics

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Winter Olympics

Background

Bobsleigh

Skeleton

See also

References