Nigeria at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Template:Infobox Olympics Nigeria
Nigeria competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Medalists
- Olusoji Fasuba, Deji Aliu, Aaron Egbele, and Uchenna Emedolu — Athletics, Men's 4 x 100 m relay
- Saul Weigopwa, Musa Audu, James Godday, and Enefiok Udo-Obong — Athletics, Men's 4 x 400 m relay
Results by event
The entire 17-person Nigerian Athletics team participated in races of 400 metres or shorter, but the only entries that qualified for finals were three of the four relay teams. Of these, both men's relay teams earned bronze medals, the only two medals for the country in Athens.
- Deji Aliu
- Round 1: 10.39 s (1st in heat 9, Qualified, 40th overall)
- Round 2: 10.26 s (5th in heat 2, did not advance, 27th overall)
- Uchenna Emedolu
- Round 1: 10.22 s (2nd in heat 1, Qualified, T-18th overall)
- Round 2: 10.15 s (3rd in heat 3, Qualified, T-12th overall)
- Semifinal: 10.35 s (8th in semifinal 1, did not advance, 16th overall)
- Saul Weigopwa
- Round 1: 45.59 s (3rd in heat 7, Qualified, T-17th overall)
- Semifinal: 45.67 s (6th in semifinal 3, did not advance, 17th overall)
- Olusoji Fasuba, Uchenna Emedolu, Aaron Egbele and Deji Aliu
- Round 1: 38.27 s (1st in heat 1, Qualified, 2nd overall) (Season Best)
- Final: 38.23 s (Bronze Medal)
- James Godday, Musa Audu, Saul Weigopwa, and Enefiok Udo Obong
- Heat: 3:01.60 (2nd in heat 2, Qualified, 2nd overall) (Season Best)
- Final: 3:00.90 (Bronze Medal)
- Mercy Nku
- Round 1: 11.37 s (4th in heat 1, Qualified, 23rd overall)
- Round 2: 11.39 s (5th in heat 3, did not advance, T-21st overall)
- Endurance Ojokolo
- Round 1: 11.36 s (2nd in heat 2, Qualified, 22nd overall)
- Round 2: 11.35 s (5th in heat 4, did not advance, 18th overall)
- Mary Onyali-Omagbemi
- Round 1: 23.37 s (6th in heat 4, Qualified, 31st overall)
- Round 2: 23.75 s (8th in heat 3, did not advance, 32nd overall)
- Gloria Kemasuode, Mercy Nku, Oludamola Osayomi and Endurance Ojokolo
- Round 1: 43.00 s (4th in heat 2, Qualified, 5th overall)
- Final: 43.42 s (7th overall)
- Ngozi Cynthia Nwokocha, Gloria Amuche Nwosu, Halimat Ismaila, and Christy Ekpukhon
- Round 1: 3:30.78 (8th in heat 1, did not advance, 15th overall)
The Nigerian team did not win a game in the preliminary round, losing all but one game by double digits. They did lead Japan going into the final five minutes of that game, but a 12-5 Japan run was enough for them to take the lead and the victory. The 11th place game was a close affair, but the Nigerians did enough to take a slim four point victory to avoid a last-placed finish.
The team's leading scorer, and the tournament's second highest scorer, was forward Mfon Udoka, who averaged 21.7 points per game. She was also the team's top rebounder, averaging 10.2 rebounds per game.
- Team Roster
- Point Guards
- Shooting Guards
- Small Forwards
- Power Forwards
- Centres
- Pool A
- 6th in group, did not advance (0 W, 5 L, 335 PF, 422 PA)
- 11th Place Classification: Defeated South Korea (68 - 64) (11th overall)
Nigeria sent seven boxers to the 2004 Olympics. Five lost their first matches, while the other two made it to the quarterfinals (one with two wins, the other with a bye and a win) before being defeated. The team's combined record was 3-7 and they earned no medals.
- Effiong Okon
- Round of 32: Lost to Alfonso Pinto of Italy (outscored; Round 3, 1:54)
- Nestor Bolum
- Round of 32: Defeated Petit Jesus Ngnitedem of Gabon (23 - 17)
- Round of 16: Defeated Diwakar Prasad of India (outscored; Round 3, 0:54)
- Quarterfinal: Lost to Worapoj Petchkoom of Thailand (14 - 29)
- Muideen Ganiyu
- Round of 32: Bye
- Round of 16: Defeated Khumiso Ikgopoleng of Botswana (25 - 16)
- Quarterfinal: Lost to Song Guk Kim of North Korea (11 - 32)
- Ahmed Sadiq
- Round of 32: Lost to Mario Kindelán of Cuba (outscored; Round 3, 0:12)
- Isaac Ekpo
- Round of 32: Lost to Utkirbek Haydarov of Uzbekistan (11 - 21)
- Emmanuel Izonritei
- Round of 16: Lost to Naser Al Shami of Syria (17 - 30)
- Gbenga Oluokun
- Round of 16: Lost to Roberto Cammarelle of Italy (13 - 29)
Football (Soccer)
The Nigerian team qualified for the Olympics after defeating Ghana on penalties and edging South Africa in a two-leg playoff.[1]
In Athens, they finished second in a three-team group, having defeated Japan 1-0 and given up a 1-0 first-half lead to the Swedes in a 2-1 loss. They took a 1-0 lead in their quarterfinal game against Germany as well, but again conceded two late goals to lose. Mercy Akide was the team's top scorer, scoring two of Nigeria's three goals.
Women's Competition:
- Team Roster
- Goalkeepers
- Defenders
- Midfielders
- Forwards
Nigeria also had four alternate players, who are not counted as part of the official roster.
- Alternates
- Stella Godwin (forward)
- Elizabeth Johnson (goalkeeper)
- Gift Otuwe (forward)
- Gloria Usieta (midfielder)
- Group C
- Defeated Japan (1 - 0) (Vera Okolo 55')
- Lost to Sweden (1 - 2) (Mercy Akide 25')
- 2nd in group, Qualified (3 points, 2 GF, 2 GA, 0 GD)
- Lost to Germany (1 - 2) (Mercy Akide 49')
The two Nigerian judoka both earned opening round byes, but neither managed to win a match in Athens.
- Chukwuemeka Onyemachi
- Round of 32: Bye
- Round of 16: Lost to Daniel Hernandes of Brazil (Penalty points; 3 shidos)
- Catherine Ewa Ekuta
- Round of 32: Bye
- Round of 16: Lost to Lena Goeldi of Switzerland (Sode-tsurikomi-goshi; ippon - 4:06)
Neither Nigerian advanced to the semifinal round.
- Eric Williams
- Heat: 1:07.69 (53rd overall, did not advance)
- Lenient Obia
- Heat: 1:09.65 (39th overall, did not advance)
Nigeria entered two singles players and two doubles teams in both the men's and women's events, and these entries put up a combined record of 5-8. However, none of the teams or individuals managed to progress beyond the second round in their respective events. Both women's doubles teams came very close to making the third round, as their second round matches went to seven sets, including Kaffo and Oshonaike coming back from down 3-0 to force a tie, only to lose a close seventh set.
- Monday Merotohun
- Round 1: Defeated Momo Babunugu of DR Congo (11 - 5, 11 - 8, 11 - 8, 11 - 8)
- Round 2: Lost to Jörgen Persson of Sweden (11 - 9, 5 - 11, 5 - 11, 7 - 11, 8 - 11)
- Segun Toriola
- Round 1: Defeated Pablo Tabachnik of Argentina (12 - 10, 11 - 8, 11 - 13, 11 - 3, 11 - 8)
- Round 2: Lost to Patrick Chila of France (3 - 11, 11 - 8, 12 - 10, 7 - 11, 8 - 11, 9 - 11)
- Monday Merotohun and Segun Toriola
- Round 1: Lost to Mark Hazinski and Ilija Lupulesku of the United States (7 - 11, 4 - 11, 5 - 11, 5 - 11)
- Peter Akinlabi and Kazeem Nosiru
- Round 1: Defeated Juan Papic and Alejandro Rodriguez of Chile (11 - 9, 11 - 5, 15 - 17, 11 - 9, 11 - 7)
- Round 2: Lost to Michael Maze and Finn Tugwell of Denmark (11 - 8, 11 - 9, 7 - 11, 11 - 13, 9 - 11, 4 - 11)
- Funke Oshonaike
- Round 1: Defeated Berta Rodriguez of Chile (11 - 9, 11 - 8, 11 - 7, 11 - 9)
- Round 2: Lost to Krisztina Toth of Hungary (12 - 10, 10 - 12, 16 - 14, 6 - 11, 13 - 15, 5 - 11)
- Cecilia Otu Offiong
- Round 1: Defeated Ligia Silva Santos of Brazil (11 - 8, 11 - 6, 9 - 11, 12 - 10, 11 - 8)
- Round 2: Lost to Kim Yun-Mi of North Korea (5 - 11, 7 - 11, 6 - 11, 8 - 11)
- Offiong Edem and Cecilia Otu Offiong
- Round 1: Bye
- Round 2: Lost to Oksana Fadeeva and Galina Melnik of Russia (11 - 7, 3 - 11, 9 - 11, 2 - 11, 11 - 6, 12 - 10, 6 - 11)
- Bose Kaffo and Funke Oshonaike
- Round 1: Bye
- Round 2: Lost to Nikoleta Stefanova and Wenling Tan Monfardini of Italy (9 - 11, 6 - 11, 10 - 12, 12 - 10, 11 - 5, 12 - 10, 9 - 11)
All three Nigerians lost their opening round matches, but the similarity between them was limited, as Obiorah's match was one of the highest scoring in the competition, while Chukwumerije's was much more defensive and Dudu's was more balanced.
- Jacob Martins Obiorah
- Round of 16: Lost to Hichem Hamdouni of Tunisia (11 - 16)
- Chika Chukwumerije
- Round of 16: Lost to Pascal Gentil of France (0 - 2)
- Princess Dudu
- Round of 16: Lost to Nadin Dawani of Jordan (9 - 12)
Neither Nigerian lifter was in medal contention.
- Blessed Udoh
- 180.0 kg (Snatch: 75.0 kg, Clean & Jerk: 105.0 kg, 7th overall)
- Franca Gbodo
- 212.5 kg (Snatch: 95.0 kg, Clean & Jerk: 117.5 kg, 10th overall)
Nigeria's only wrestler in Athens lost both his matches, and finished second-to-last in his weight class.
- Fred Jessey
- Pool 1
- Lost to Jin-Kuk Baek of South Korea (1 - 3)
- Lost to Kazuhiko Ikematsu of Japan (Fall; 1:07)
- 3rd in pool, did not advance (2 TP, 1 CP, 20th overall)
- Pool 1
Officials
- President: Habu Gumel
- Secretary General: Olabanji Oladapo
See also
References
- Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad
- Wallechinsky, David (2008). The Complete Book of the Olympics : 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-84513-330-6.
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- ^ "Games of the XXVIII. Olympiad Football Qualifying Tournament record". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. March 13, 2005. Retrieved 2008-07-15.