How govt’s training grants propelled Ogunkoya to historic feats at Atlanta ’96 Olympics

Team Nigeria’s failure to impress at the just-concluded Paris 2024 Olympics, despite parading 88 athletes, and spending over N9 billion in prosecuting the Games has brought back old memories, particularly the Atlanta ’96 Olympics.

Twenty-eight years ago, Falilat Ogunkoya made history by becoming the first Nigerian to win an individual medal in track and field at the Olympics. She also made history as the first and, so far, the only one to win two medals at the same Olympics.

Unlike the just-concluded Paris 2024 Games, where the Federal Government paid some athletes their training grants in the middle of the Games, the situation was different in the build-up to Atlanta ’96.

Athletics coach, Chief Tony Osheku, who tutored Ogunkoya to win the two medals at Atlanta ’96, revealed to Completesports that former FIFA Executive Committee member, Dr Amos Adamu, contributed hugely to the success while he was Director of Sports in the Federal Ministry of Sports.

Osheku narrated how Dr Adamu stopped Ogunkoya from competing in the European Athletics Circuit, to concentrate on her preparation for the Olympics.

According to Osheku, the whole story began after Ogunkoya broke 50 seconds for the first time in her career.
“It began at the Grand Prix, in Paris, precisely on June 28, 1996. She ran 49.89 to place second. On July 3 at the Grand Prix, in Lausanne, Switzerland, she placed second running another personal best- 49.60 seconds and Nigerians started taking special notice of her.

“It was at this point that Dr Adamu invited me to his office at the Tafawa Balewa Square, in Lagos, for a meeting. He said the Sports Ministry was ready to pay Falilat the appearance money that she usually gets so that she could stop competing in the circuit because