Tobi Blow ends medal hopes at Paris 2024

Nigeria’s team suffered a major blow in Paris as major medal hopeful Tobi Amusan was dealt a surprise when the world record holder was eliminated in the 110m hurdles after a slow start to her semi-final heat. Her third-place finish in 12.55 seconds was not enough to be one of the fastest entrants in qualifying.

It was a double whammy when they realised that a potential chance for reprieve was lost because Team Nigeria officials failed to lodge a protest in time when French qualifier Samba-Mayela stepped out of her lane and should have been disqualified.

Weightlifter Joy Eze, a last hope for a possible surprise medal in the women’s 71kg category, put up a strong challenge but eventually finished seventh.

Read also: Beyond Paris 2024: Nigeria on the brink of greatness! – Odegbami

It was the culmination of a forgettable Olympics for Team Nigeria, marked by a doping violation in boxing, an as yet unexplained exclusion of an athlete in athletics and an embarrassing incident involving the use of incorrect equipment in cycling, all of which combined to put a negative spin on Team Nigeria’s participation in Paris.

In a swift reaction, Sports Minister John Enoh held a press conference at the Nigerian Consulate in Paris where he fielded questions from Nigerian journalists covering the Games. He assured that the lessons from this poor performance will be the catalyst for necessary reforms in the sports sector, some of which have already been put in place, to put the country on the right path to recovery in an industry where, he admitted, Nigeria was simply not living up to its true potential.

It’s London 2012 all over again.

Deja vu…….

By Deji Omotoyinbo, in Paris