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Nigerian Bobsled Team

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Nigeria bobsled team
SportBobsledding
Founded2016
LeagueInternational Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation
Division
ManagerSeun Adigun
Members
How a Bobsled team fits into a sled

The Nigeria bobsled team or Nigerian bobsleigh team, represents Nigeria in bobsledding. The first team was established in 2016 by Seun Adigun 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,[1] although they placed last in their first appearance in the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics placing 19 out of 19 with a time of 3:29.60.[2]

History

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The first national team was established in 2016 by Seun Adigun in 2-woman bobsleigh. The team was entirely self-funded, without financial support from Nigerian authorities. They raised money by starting a GoFundMe page. Raising the money to run the team showed the Nigerian government that they needed to establish a governing federation for bobsled, which they did. It was called Bobsled & Skeleton Federation of Nigeria (BSFN). The team's first attempt to qualify for the Winter Olympics, was in 2017, for the 2018 Winter Olympics in bobsledding, the two-women event. The 2018 Olympic team consisted of driver Seun Adigun, and brakemen Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga. In November 2017, the team met the basic standard to participate in the qualifications. If the team qualified, this would represent the first appearance of Nigeria at the Winter Olympics and the first African team in bobsled. The team qualified for the Olympics, being Nigerian representatives at the Winter Games. Nigeria became one of eight African countries to be represented at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[3][4][5][6][7] Onwumere carried the Nigerian flag at the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony Parade of Nations, and marched with her two teammates, along with fellow Nigerian Simidele Adeagbo, who qualified for women's skeleton.[8] The team finished last among the 20 teams who competed,but actually finished 19th due to the disqualification of one team.[9] [10] 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.[9]

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.[11]

Equipment

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  • Maeflower 1, a training sled built out of wood, named after "Mae-Mae", Amezee Adigun, Suen Adigun's deceased sister.[12]
  • Maeflower 2, the team's first racing sled, which accompanied them to the 2018 Olympics.[12]

Rosters

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Event Competition Sled-team Driver(s) Braker(s) Pusher(s) [NB 1] Sled(s) Notes
2018 Winter Olympics 2-women Nigeria 1 Seun Adigun
Maeflower 2 The team finished 19th out of 19 teams, just behind the Jamaican women's team.


Ngozi Onwumere

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Ngozi Whitney Onwumere, but typically just known as Ngozi Onwumere, was born January 23, 1992 in Mesquite, Texas. This is the place in which she grew up, before she proceeded to move to Houston in order to prevail in her track career. Onwumere was born and raised in the United States, but she felt closer to her Igbo culture, which lead her to representing Umuchima village in Imo state for Nigeria. Ngozi Onwumere is the daughter of Rose and Emmanuel Onwumere and grew up being the sister to Ifeoma, Nneka and Kelechi. Growing up, she was always involved in the community, often volunteering with the Clothes Closet and Salvation Army. Her wish was to be a physical therapist when growing up, and she typically spent her day doing her favorite hobbies which included singing, hair, clothes construction, and sewing. She was also known for being an outside person and spent a lot of her time doing outdoor activities or dancing when she wasn’t busy with track and field.[13]

Competitions
  • 2014 NCAA Regional Qualifier - 100m, 200m, 4x100m, 4x400m
  • 2014 All-American Conference Team (Outdoor) - 4x400m
  • 2014 All-American Conference Team (Indoor) - 4x400m
  • 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championship Qualifier - 200m, 4x100m
  • 2013 NCAA Regional Qualifier - 200m, Long Jump, 4x100m
  • 2013 Conference USA Commissioner Honor Roll
  • 2012 NCAA Regional Qualifier - 4x400m
  • 2012 Conference USA Commissioner Honor Roll
  • 2011 Conference USA Commissioner Honor Roll

Before jumping into the world of bobsledding, Onwumere was an amazing track and field athlete with her discipline being in the long jump and sprinting events. She ran for the NCAA division one track and field program at the University of Houston from 2010 to 2014. Through her four years on the team, she earned multiple awards from honor roll to a multi-time NCAA qualifier.[14] After her four years as a collegiate athlete, Ngozi Onwumere began running as a member for the Federation of Nigeria in multiple meets such as the 2015 IAAF World Relays and All-African Games. During these times, she specialized in the 100m, 200m, 400m dash, and 4x100m relay.[15] Ngozi Onwumere came into the bobsledding field with the help of her fellow teammates. When asked about joining the team, she said, "When the opportunity was presented to be a member of Nigeria’s first ever bobsled team, there was no question at all. I would love to bring honor to the land we love with my fellow Naija women of much integrity. This opportunity is so much bigger than me."[16]

The Nigeria bobsled team ranked 19th place in the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics.

Seun Adigun

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Starting a bobsled team has been considered a great accomplishment not only for Nigeria but for other African American women in the world. The person responsible for creating this Nigerian bobsled team is Seun Adigun. Seun was born in the United States in Chicago, Illinois. She was born to Nigerian parents, and is a 1st generation Nigerian-American. Growing up, she was interested in playing as many sports as she could. She primarily played basketball and ran track and field while in high school. Adigun mostly received attention for her ability to sprint and jump hurdles. During her senior year of high school, she was noticed by the University of Houston; she earned a scholarship to attend the University. Adigun was a member of the women’s track and field team, where she competed for all four of her undergraduate years. She finished her college career with an All- American status. After graduating college she went to represent and run professionally for her country of Nigeria.[17] Adigun then qualified to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, where she represented Nigeria. The first time Seun watched the Winter Olympic Games was the Games in Sochi, Russia. She only watched the Games to support and watch fellow athletes from the track and field team who had switched over to the bobsled team. After watching these games, she was encouraged to try out for the USA team as well. She was then inspired to establish a bobsled team for Nigeria, since Nigeria did not have one.[18] In an article in the HuffPost, she said that she remembers watching Simone Biles, Ibtihaj Muhammad, and other Black athletes set records in the Brazil Games. She felt inspired by watching African women set records in sports. This inspiration led her attempt to start a team in Nigeria.[19] The team included Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga. All three of them went to compete in the Winter Olympic Games in 2018. Sources have said that Seun, Ngozi, and Akuoma have all been part of a historic moment by participating in the Olympic Games.

Akuoma Omeoga

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Akuoma Omeoga was born on June 22, 1992. She is the daughter of Ikwuagwu and Angelina Omeoga, and she has three siblings: Ije, Chioma, and Uzoma. Omeoga always considered herself to be Nigerian because that was the first culture she ever knew and the culture she grew up around since both of her parents were Nigerian natives and moved to the United States to attend college. Omeoga also has dual citizenship of the United States and Nigeria.[20] Omeoga was a track and field athlete at the University of Minnesota, where she competed as a sprinter from 2010-2014. She was out of the college competition for both seasons in 2011.[21] Omeoga only competed in indoor track in 2012, then competed in outdoor for 2013. She competed in both in 2014.[22]After graduating with a bachelor's degree in human resources, she obtained a job in Human Resources at Wells Fargo.[23] She wanted a change and something out of her comfort zone from her everyday job, so she decided to move to Houston. A family acquaintance gave Omeoga the number of Seun Adigun, who also had Nigerian lineage and lived in Houston. They met for dinner, and a few months later, Adigun called Omeoga and recruited her to join the bobsled team as her partner; without much thought, Omeoga agreed because she felt like it would help her stay physically active and give her a way to represent her Nigerian lineage (Omeoga represents Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria[24]). Adigun had to teach her the basics of bobsledding because Omeoga had no idea. Omeoga had to gain weight and get stronger in order to be the brakewoman. Omeoga is unsure whether or not she will continue to be an Olympic bobsledder because of the time commitment and physical demand, but wants to continue to work closely with Nigeria's Olympic Federation.[25]

Notes

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  1. ^ The 2-person sled has a driver and a brake operator, but no pushers, in the 4-person sled, there's a driver, brake operator and two pushers.

References

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  1. ^ Jaime Lowe (6 March 2018). "The First African Team to Compete in Bobsled". New York Times.
  2. ^ "PyeongChang Women's bobleigh women - Olympic Bobsleigh". International Olympic Committee. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Nigerian bobsled team will be country's first-ever Winter Olympics representatives". ABC News (Australia). 17 November 2017.
  4. ^ CTV National News. 16 November 2017. CTV.
  5. ^ Wendy-Anne Clarke (17 November 2017). "Nigerian women's bobsleigh team hope to make history in Pyeongchang". CBC News.
  6. ^ Marissa Payne (17 November 2017). "Nigerian women become first African bobsled team to qualify for Olympics". Washington Post.
  7. ^ Linus Unah (20 February 2018). "So How Excited Is Nigeria About Its History-Making Women's Bobsled Team?". NPR.
  8. ^ Jennifer Calfas (10 February 2018). "Nigeria's First-Ever Bobsled Team Has Arrived at the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony and People Are Really Excited". Time Magazine.
  9. ^ a b Melanie Hauser (22 March 2018). "As one journey ends, another begins for Nigerian bobsledders". Houston Chronicle.
  10. ^ "PyeongChang Women's bobleigh women - Olympic Bobsleigh". International Olympic Committee. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Nigeria's Bobsled Team arrives from South Korea". Bella Naija. 3 March 2018.
  12. ^ a b Jerry Brewer (20 February 2018). "If you want to celebrate Olympic diversity, women's bobsled is a good place to be". Washington Post.
  13. ^ "Ngozi Onwumere - Track and Field". University of Houston Athletics. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Ngozi Onwumere - Track and Field". University of Houston Athletics. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Okagbare To Lead Nigeria's Team To IAAF World Athletics Championships". Channels Television. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Meet The Team Members – BSF Nigeria | Official Website". bsfnigeria. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  17. ^ Adigun, Seun. "Seun Adigun About". Team USA. Team USA. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  18. ^ Adigun, Seun. "SeunAdigun About". SeunAdigun.com. Seun Adigun. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  19. ^ Finley, Taryn. "Nigerian Bobsled Team Brought Something More Valuable Than Gold To The Olympics". HuffPost. Huffpost. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  20. ^ Rosengren, John (13 May 2019). "Speed Racer". www.minnesotaalumni.org. University of Minnesota Alumni Association. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  21. ^ "redshirted - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Akuoma Omeoga - Women's Track & Field". University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  23. ^ Rosengren, John (13 May 2019). "Speed Racer". www.minnesotaalumni.org. University of Minnesota Alumni Association. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Meet The Team Members – BSF Nigeria | Official Website". Bobsled & Skeleton Federation of Nigeria. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  25. ^ Scoggins, Chip (19 February 2018). "St. Paul native is part of Nigeria's first Olympic bobsled team". Star Tribune. Star Tribune. Retrieved 19 November 2019.

Further reading

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See also

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Nigeria Bobsled Bobsledding Bobsleigh Nigeria Nigeria bobsled team Nigeria bobsled team

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