With female athletes excelling and making significant strides at the Olympics, it is evident that female sports, in general, are gaining more recognition, reaching new heights, and garnering more support. From the Olympics achieving gender parity to the growing audience for women’s sports, there is much to celebrate and explore.
In the spirit of celebrating women at the Olympics, we’re spotlighting African women’s performances at the games.
Favour Ofili wins 200m race at Olympics
Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili made a remarkable Olympic debut on Sunday; she secured a spot in the 200m semi-final with a stellar performance, crossing the finish line in 22.24 seconds to claim the top spot.
Ofili surpassed Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, who completed the race in second place with 22.28 seconds, and Gina Bass-Bittaye, who secured third place with 22.84 seconds. With this commanding performance, Ofili now focuses on the upcoming semi-final and potential final races on Monday to leave a lasting impact on her Olympic debut and potentially clinch a medal.
This comes days after a controversial administrative error that led to her exclusion from the women’s 100m. Ofili publicly accused the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) of failing to register her for the event, claiming they “took this opportunity from me” and stating that “neither organisation can ever be trusted in the future.”
D’Tigress head to the quarterfinals
The Nigerian senior female basketball team, D’Tigress, are going to the quarterfinals after beating their Canadian opponents by 79-70 at the Olympic games.
After an unfortunate loss to France, which automatically slimmed their chances of qualifying, D’Tigress had to win the third game in the preliminary stage against Canada in a final attempt to qualify.
This victory marks D’Tigress’ first-ever qualification for the Olympic basketball quarter-finals. Nigeria performed brilliantly in the group stage, amassing five classification points and leading the pack, with France set to face Australia later in the day.
The win was a proud moment for head coach Rene Wakama, the first coach (male or female) to qualify Nigeria for the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games, especially against a top-ranked team.
Kaylia Nemour makes history
Nemour from Algeria made history as the inaugural African gymnast to claim an Olympic medal by clinching the gold with a mesmerising performance on the uneven bars at the Paris Games on Sunday, captivating the audience at Bercy Arena.
The 17-year-old’s dynamic routine, showcasing various intricate release-and-catch manoeuvres, thrilled the spectators who had gathered to cheer for a gymnast who had formerly competed for France.
Tatjana Smith becomes SA’s most successful Olympian.
Smith earned South Africa’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics after finishing first in the 100-metre breaststroke swimming title. She also came in second place in the 200-metre breaststroke, earning Silver.
She has four Olympic medals, making her the most decorated South African Olympian.
Updates for Nigeria
The Super Falcons gets kicked out of the Olympics
After suffering a 3-1 loss to Japan, the Super Falcons are out of the Olympics. Nigeria suffered defeats in their initial two matches against Brazil and Spain. However, they entered Wednesday’s game intending to secure a victory to revive their limited possibility of reaching the quarter-finals in the women’s football competition at the Olympics.
The glimpse of hope quickly faded as Japan netted two goals within ten minutes, beginning in the 22nd minute. The second goal from Japan spurred the Nigerian team to intensify their efforts for a goal. Their breakthrough came when Jennifer Echegini scored in the 42nd minute.
However, despite their brave efforts, the Super Falcons couldn’t secure another goal, leading to a 3-1 defeat as the match concluded. They leave the tournament in France without earning any points and managing to score just one goal throughout their three appearances.
Nigeria loses its chance at the swimming qualifiers despite valiant effort
Adaku Nwandu competed for Nigeria in the Women’s 50m freestyle and secured the second spot with a time of 26.62 seconds. However, her performance did not qualify her for the semi-finals, as she ranked 34th out of the 79 swimmers across the ten heats in the competition.
Adeshina breaks her winning streak in the Olympics High Jump
Temitope Adeshina competed for Nigeria against 15 other nations in the initial round. Unfortunately, she didn’t advance to the women’s high jump final. Despite being the national indoor and outdoor record holder in the women’s high jump, Temitope Adeshina finished 19th in the rankings.
Nigeria gets knocked out in the preliminary Women’s Discus Throw round
Chioma Onyekwere, Obiageri Amaechi and Ashley Anumba represented Nigeria in the Women’s Discus Throw preliminary stage. Onyekwere, Anumba and Amaechi placed 21st, 29th, and 32nd in the overall standings, which knocks them out of qualifying for the next rounds.
Olatoye fails to qualify for Women’s Hammer Throw
Oyesade Olatoye’s first appearance at her debut Olympics ended with the Nigerian athlete throwing 66.41 meters, landing her in 14th place in her group of 16 and 29th in the overall rankings.
The 27-year-old’s throw of 66.41m was significantly below her lifetime best of 71.88m achieved at the beginning of June. This mark also fell well short of the 73.00m qualification standard set by World Athletics for the event.
Ukpeseraue fails to qualify for the Women’s Road Race
In a historic debut for Nigeria at the Olympic cycling events, Ese Ukpeseraye’s participation in the Women’s Road Race at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was marked by a valiant effort that ultimately saw her and several other riders fall short of completing the race.
