Meet 5 Nigerian stars to watch at the 2024 Paris Olympics

News360 Nigeria highlights in this post, 5 Nigerian athletes to look out for at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Olympics hold great significance for Nigerian sports. At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Nojeem Maiyegun won a bronze medal in the men’s light middleweight boxing division, marking the nation’s first major sporting accomplishment.

Nigeria’s most notable football accomplishment to date occurred during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where the Dream Team stunned the football world by defeating Argentina and Brazil to win the gold medal.

In addition, Chioma Ajunwa won the gold in the Atlanta female long jump competition, making history as the first and only Nigerian individual athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.

The 2024 Paris Olympics flags off on July 26, with Nigeria participating in 11 events, including football, basketball, long jump, and weightlifting.

Here’s a list of the top athletes to watch out for among the 82 athletes that will represent Nigeria at the games:

1. Tobi Amusan

Amusan broke the world record and became the first and only Nigerian to win a world championship in athletics.

Considering her season-best time of 12.40 seconds and her fluid hurdle-scaling technique, she has a good chance of finishing on the podium. However, she must avoid bad or false starts, as witnessed at the Suzhou Diamond League.

In the track events in Paris, Tobi Amusan will represent Nigeria,  chasing the gold medal. With Amusan holding the world record in the 100-meter hurdles, Nigeria has a strong chance of adding to the three gold medals the nation has already won at the Olympics since its founding in 1964.

2. Asisat Oshoala

The Falcons will get another chance to bring pride to Nigeria at the Olympics when they play Brazil in their opening group match on July 25. This comes after the heartbreaking penalty-shootout loss to England in the World Cup.

Among the players Nigerians will be watching for when the Super Falcons take the field is the current African Footballer of the Year.

3. Ese Brume

The current African and Commonwealth Games long jump champion, Brume wants to improve on her Tokyo bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Since her breakthrough in 2013, she has regularly taken home medals from significant events. Brume ranks fourth in the world and has a personal best of 7.17 meters.

She started her career at the 2013 African Junior Championships and went on to win the African Championships, African Games, Commonwealth Games, World Indoor Championships, and World Championships. Nigeria’s lone Olympic medal in athletics came from Brume’s bronze medal in 2020, the nation had not won an athletics medal since 2008.

She frequently achieves her best jumps on her final attempts, demonstrating her tenacity.

The 28-year-old, who was born in the year that Nigeria won its first Olympic gold medal, and wants to follow in Ajunwa’s footsteps by winning the long jump title in Paris.

Brume is the three-time African senior champion as well as the current Commonwealth champion. She presently holds the records for both the African long jump and the Commonwealth Games.

4. Chukwuebuka Enekwechi

As an African champion heading back to the Olympics, Enekwechi gives Nigeria a shot at a medal in the shot put.

He is a Nigerian-American track and field athlete, specializing in throwing events. He competes internationally for Nigeria.

He is the 2018 Commonwealth games Silver medalist and reigning African Champion in the shot put.  He is also the 2019 African Games Champion and the reigning Nigerian National Sports Festival Champion.

5. Favour Ashe

The 22-year-old recently set the record for best timing by a Nigerian in a 100m race.

In the men’s 100-meter race at the NCAA East Prelims, Ashe easily set a new personal best with a time of 9.94 seconds, which is the second-fastest time in the world this year and the fastest time in the NCAA in 2024.

Nigeria has a chance in Ashe to shock the world in Paris.