Winter Olympics: Nigerian Lady, Adigun Thrills On First Day At Olympic Village

Having stayed in the PyeongChang Olympic Village for less than 24 hours, Nigeria’s bobsleigh pioneer Seun Adigun is already happy to be part of the Olympic Family.

During Tuesday’s team welcoming ceremony for Nigeria, Adigun could not help but to join in the performance being put on to celebrate Nigeria’s Winter Olympic Games debut.

“We have not been here for a full day yet and we already feel a part of the Olympic family,” said an excited Adigun.

In fact, it is not the first time Adigun will stay in an Olympic Village. As the niece of former NBA star Hakeem Olajuwon, Adigun first found her talent in athletics. She established herself as one of the elite hurdlers in Nigeria after winning the 100-meter hurdles event at the 2010 African Championships and went on to win the gold medal at the All-Africa Games the following year. She fulfilled her Olympic dream in 2012 at the London Games although she was ousted in the preliminary round of the 100m hurdles event.

But in 2014, Adigun decided to switch her focus to bobsleigh. She became interested in the winter sport after watching the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.

“It just feels great to have people that trust one another to do something that is exhilarating and adventurous, and also to be able to do it in a revolutionary style. I think it is beautiful,” she said.

Xinhua reports that Adigun first joined the US national setup and competed for the US at the World Cup event in 2016. Later in the year, she reached out to the Nigerian Olympic Committee who were interested in being represented in bobsleigh. She was released by the US team and soon started to form a Nigerian bobsleigh team.

She recruited fellow Nigerians Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga, who are both high-level sprinters, and started to train in Houston with a makeshift wooden sled that they nicknamed “The Mayflower”.

Adigun managed to raise some 75,000 US dollars to fund the team to participate in the World Cup and their successful campaign at the IBSF World Cup 2017-2018 led to the first Olympic qualification of an African bobsleigh team.

“Strong faith, hard work, dedication, and support are some of the necessary ingredients to the meal called ‘Success’,” Adigun wrote on her Facebook page.

Now, Adigun and her teammate Omeoga as well as Nigeria’s first ever skeleton athlete Simidele Adeagbo, are ready to make new history in PyeongChang.

“The weather is a little cold. I hope it can warm up a little bit by the time we compete,” Adigun said.