The Nigeria bobsled team or Nigerian bobsleigh team, represents

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 ...

bobsledding Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

. The first team was established in 2016 by

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 ...

, as a women's team for the 2-women event. In 2017, they qualified to be the first Nigerians at the Winter Olympics, and first Africans in bobsled at the Winter Olympics.

History

The first national team was established in 2016 by

, in 2-woman bobsleigh. The team was entirely self-funding, without financial support from Nigerian authorities. Raising the money to run the team showed the Nigerian government that they needed to establish a governing federation for bobsled, which they did, the Bobsled & Skeleton Federation of Nigeria (BSFN). The team's first attempt to qualify for the

Winter Olympics 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 h ...

, was in 2017, for 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 ...

, the two-women event. The 2018 Olympic team consisted of driver

, and brakemen Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga. In November 2017, the team met the basic standard to participate in the qualifications. If the team qualifies, this would represent the first appearance of

at the Winter Olympics; and the first African team in bobsled. The team qualified for the Olympics, being its representatives at the Winter Games. Nigeria became one of eight African countries to be represented at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Onwumere carried the Nigerian flag at the

2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea on 9 February 2018. It began at 20:00 KST and finished at approximately 22:20 KST. The Games were officially opened by Pr ...

Parade of Nations The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...

, and marched with her two teammates, along with fellow Nigerian

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 qualified for women's skeleton. The team finished last among the 20 teams who competed. After the Games, the 3 on the team retired from bobsled, but pledged to develop the sport in Nigeria, grow the Nigerian sporting federation, and grow winter sports and the Winter Olympics in Africa. The team arrived in Nigeria to celebrate their Olympic experience in March 2018, organized by the BSFN marketing team, the Temple Management Company (TMC), starting at Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.

Equipment

* ''Maeflower 1'', a training sled built out of wood, named after "Mae-Mae", Amezee Adigun, Suen Adigun's deceased sister. * ''Maeflower 2'', the team's first racing sled, which accompanied them to the 2018 Olympics.

History

Equipment

Rosters

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

See also