Ajunwa calls for better support for Nigerian athletes after 30 years without Olympic gold

Retired Nigerian athlete Chioma Ajunwa, who is the only individual Olympic gold medallist from the country, has urged the government and sports leaders to create systems that will help Nigeria produce more champions at the top level of sports, The PUNCH reports.

Ajunwa made this statement while looking back on her success at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, where she won gold in the women’s long jump.

On Friday, August 2, 1996, Ajunwa jumped 7.12m to win gold, finishing ahead of Italy’s Fiona May and USA’s Jackie Joyner-Kersee. She made history as the first Nigerian and still the only individual to win an Olympic gold medal for Nigeria.

Now, thirty years later, Ajunwa, who is a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, feels sad that Nigeria has not produced another Olympic champion. She believes this is due to poor sports structures in the country.

“While other nations built heroes, we clapped and forgot. While others invested in tracks, labs, coaches, and dreams, we went to sleep,” Ajunwa shared on Facebook.

“It’s a 30-year reminder that talent alone is not enough. That without structure, funding, and vision, even our best will be our last.

“Honour Chioma Ajunwa not with speeches, but with action. Build the system she deserved.

“Find the Chioma in Ajegunle, in Enugu, Owerri, in Sokoto. Make sure that 30 years from now we are not writing this same message, because a nation that cannot produce another individual Olympic champion in 30 years is a nation that is failing its children.”

Ajunwa also lamented how Nigeria’s sports heroes are often forgotten.

In 2021, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu made good on a promise to Ajunwa by giving her the keys to a three-bedroom flat in Iponri, Lagos, 25 years after the former military administrator of Lagos State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, made the promise.

“Chioma gave us glory. What did we give back? If not Lagos State, what can Nigeria boast that they gave to Chioma?

“Dilapidated stadium. Unpaid allowances. Broken promises. We only celebrate our athletes when they win, and abandon them when they need us most. This anniversary is not just to celebrate Chioma.