Three
women made history at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Click here to find out why they
are significant and how it will affect the future.
In
the 2018 Winter Olympics, history was made. Nigeria forwarded a bobsleigh team,
making them the first African nation to ever do so. What does this mean for the
sport and for Nigeria? Let’s take a look.
Interest
One
thing we are likely to see as a result of the impact of the Nigerian bobsleigh
team is an interest in the sport and others like it from the wider public. You
can currently engage in many types of sport betting in
Nigeria, with the most popular often being football. However,
if there is an increase in interest in winter sports in Nigeria, we can expect
people to begin to engage with them in a variety of ways. From trying them out
themselves to placing bets on who will win in the big tournaments and maybe
even the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Inspiration
The
women who took part in the event, Seun Adigun, Akuoma Omeoga and Ngozi
Onwumere, were first inspired by watching other black athletes take part in the
2016 Summer Olympics. The record breakers like Simone Biles inspired them to
stand tall and try their hand at a sport which no African nation had competed
in before. Though they were American-Nigerian, they decided to represent under
the Nigerian flag. This enabled them to represent the whole of Africa and not
just the one nation, as would have been the case if they tried to join the USA
team.
Even
as they were inspired, they themselves were turning into inspirations. Their press interest from media outlets all around the world also inspired
Simidele Adeagbo. She joined them as the first skeleton racer to represent the
country and we can already see the impact and the legacy of these women, even
now just a year after the games.
Legacy
Thanks
to these women, it is likely that we will see a big uptake of winter sports in
Nigeria and other African countries. They have proven that there is a
precedence for them competing and an interest in the sport. What’s more, their
progress is receiving international interest and it is likely to help them
attract more sponsorship as they continue.
While
the team came last in the competition, they also got a personal best meaning
that they could achieve better with more support. Talent – which the team
definitely has – will only get them so far. They need support from a team of
experts like others have access to. When they entered, the Nigerian government
gave them no funding or support so thanks to the influence and attention they
have, we might find that they start to look at funding for more winter sports.
There is no doubt about it, these three women who made up the first Nigerian bobsleigh team, together with their teammate in the skeleton race, are part of an important step in African sports. Adigun, Omeoga, Onwumere, and Adeagbo have gone down in history as great sporting women. We can’t wait to see what their legacy will be.
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