Nigeria’s first-ever Olympic cyclist has praised the German team for giving her a bike to compete with in the Paris 2024 Olympics after she was unable to source one of her own.
Ese Ukpeseraye had initially only been registered for the women’s road race but competed in two track events – which require a different kind of bike – at “short notice”, she said on social media platform X.
The 25-year-old wrote that with no bicycle to race with and in the spirit of sportsmanship the German team had come to her rescue.
Her post prompted several Nigerians online to question the competency of their national sports authorities, but Nigeria’s sports minister insisted the situation was unavoidable.
John Owan Enoh said the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world’s foremost cycling authority, offered Nigeria last-minute slots in two women’s track events “due to the disqualification of a country”.
The offer was made after Ukpeseraye and the rest of Team Nigeria had arrived in Paris for the games, Mr Enoh said.
“For this track race reallocated to Team Nigeria, a very special equipment (approved specifically for the Olympic track game) is used,” he posted on X.
“It’ll take months to have it delivered after ordering and making payment.”
Online commenters remained sceptical, however. Some linked Ukpeseraye’s case to incident earlier on in the games, where Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili discovered last minute that she could not race in the women’s 100m as she had been left off the entry list.
“I would have asked what happened to Favour Ofili who missed her 100m race because whoever was supposed to fill in her name for the competition failed to do so. Does that also take months to import?” one X user wrote.
Others asked why Nigeria was yet to win any medals at this year’s games. It is an outcome even Nigeria’s government seems frustrated by – the information ministry touched on “the disappointing performances of Nigerian athletes” in a recent press release.
In this year’s games, Ukpeseraye became the first Nigerian – man or woman – to compete in a cycling event.
Her first event was the women’s road race, but she was among a number of athletes who failed to complete the 154km (96-mile) route.
“It was an honour to represent Nigeria at this level. Although I couldn’t finish the race, being here is a victory in itself,” she is quoted by the Nigerian media as saying.
Ukpeseraye also missed out on the finals of the two track events she competed in – she finished sixth in her keirin heat and 28th in the sprint qualifiers.
However, she remains proud of her achievements, writing on X that she has “set the ball rolling for cycling in Nigeria”.