Meet the athletes representing Nigeria at the Winter Olympics
For one reason or the other, sport is one 'universal language' everyone has come to appreciate whether at a competitive level or otherwise. While sports such as football, lawn tennis, basketball, baseball and some other ones are quite notable and gaining huge following; there are those that do not really enjoy rave reviews but this is is not stopping athletes who are so passionate about them from having fun in the sports they have come to love. At the moment, athletes from different countries across the globe are currently participating in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and one of the major talking point is that Nigeria is also participating in the competition for the first time- that's probably not news any longer. However, let's beam focus on the four ladies that are representing Nigeria at Pyeongchang 2018. Three of them will be competing for a place on the podium in bobsleigh while the fourth will be participating in the skeleton bob event. Those two (2) events are certainly not sporting activities that are making wave in Nigeria, a nation where football dominates the sporting arena. So, it wouldn't be out of place to briefly talk about these 'strange-sounding' sport before I proceed further.
Bobsleigh can be compared with car race in some ways but there is no car involved, and track [on which it is performed] is of ice. As Wikipedia puts it: "Bobsleigh is a Winter sport in which teams of two or four teammates make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled". Skeleton bob, on the other hand, is a variation of bobsleigh only that the sled used [in the skeleton event] is smaller and is controlled by a single rider.
So, let's talk about the heroines- or shall we call them pacesetters?
Seun Adigun
Seun Adigun has given so much to the course as she pioneered the movement to have Nigeria represented at the Winter Olympics for the first time. She had to raise the fund for the project through a 'Go FundMe' campaign and was able to persuade other teammates- including the coach- to join in before they began to draw interest from sponsors, fans and other sport personalities world over. Well, for the records, Seun is a 100m hurdle athlete who represented Nigeria at various international competitions that included the London 2012 Summer Olympics and a number of world championship. She will be participating in the two-women bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics.
Akuoma Omeoga
Akuoma was born into the family of a Nigerian couple in Minnesota 25 years ago. Prior to teaming up with Seun Adigun, she had been actively involved in track and field events at her alma mater, University of Minnesota. She will be joining the pilot (that is Seun Adigun]- and representing Nigeria- in the sled as the 'brakeman'- you can choose call her a 'brakewoman', though.
Ngozi Onwumere
Ngozi Onwumere was born in Texas, U.S.A. Like Seun, Ngozi has also represented Nigeria in a host of track and field events; she had previously competed in the 100m, 200m and 400m races and also the 4 X 100m relay race. Ngozi will double as the coach and second 'brakeman' of the bobsleigh team at this year's Winter Olympics.
Simidele Adeagbo
Simidele Adeagbo was born in Toronto and spent some of her childhood years in Nigeria. Inspired by the achievement of the trio [of Seun, Akuoma and Ngozi], Simidele decided to chart a slightly different course as she vied for a slot- which she eventually got- in the skeleton event at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Before undertaking this new adventure, she had represented the University of Kentucky in triple jump events.
As we bask in the sweltering heat of the sun here at home, we can take solace in seeing the Nigerian flag hoisted in the freezing weather of Pyeongchang; all thanks to the heroics of Seun Adigun, Akuoma Omeoga, Ngozi Onwumere and Simidele Adeagbo.
The heat event of skeleton will begin on the 15th of February, 2018 while that of the bobsleigh starts off by February, 21. So, watch out for these Nigerian ladies with the heart of lion participate in the highly technical [and yet risky] winter sports of bobsleigh and skeleton.