Sport | Bobsledding |
---|---|
Founded | 2016 |
League | International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation |
Division |
|
Chairman | Seun Adigun |
Manager | Seun Adigun |
Members |
The Nigeria bobsled team or Nigerian bobsleigh team, represents Nigeria in bobsledding. The first team was established in 2016 by Seun Adigun, as a women's team for the 2-women event. In 2017, they qualified to be the first Nigerians at the Winter Olympics, and first Africans in bobsled at the Winter Olympics. [1]
The first national team was established in 2016 by Seun Adigun, in 2-woman bobsleigh. The team was entirely self-funding, without financial support from Nigerian authorities. Raising the money to run the team showed the Nigerian government that they needed to establish a governing federation for bobsled, which they did, the Bobsled & Skeleton Federation of Nigeria (BSFN). The team's first attempt to qualify for the Winter Olympics, was in 2017, for the 2018 Winter Olympics in bobsledding, the two-women event. The 2018 Olympic team consisted of driver Seun Adigun, and brakemen Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga. In November 2017, the team met the basic standard to participate in the qualifications. If the team qualifies, this would represent the first appearance of Nigeria at the Winter Olympics; and the first African team in bobsled. The team qualified for the Olympics, being its representatives at the Winter Games. Nigeria became one of eight African countries to be represented at the 2018 Winter Olympics. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Onwumere carried the Nigerian flag at the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony Parade of Nations, and marched with her two teammates, along with fellow Nigerian Simidele Adeagbo, who qualified for women's skeleton. [7] The team finished last among the 20 teams who competed. [8] After the Games, the 3 on the team retired from bobsled, but pledged to develop the sport in Nigeria, grow the Nigerian sporting federation, and grow winter sports and the Winter Olympics in Africa. [8]
The team arrived in Nigeria to celebrate their Olympic experience in March 2018, organized by the BSFN marketing team, the Temple Management Company (TMC), starting at Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos. [9]
Event | Competition | Sled-team | Driver(s) | Braker(s) | Pusher(s) [NB 1] | Sled(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 Winter Olympics | 2-women | Nigeria 1 | Seun Adigun | Maeflower 2 | The team finished 20th out of 20 teams, just behind the Jamaican women's team. | ||
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.
Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled, down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of the sled.
Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled, a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, skeleton and bobsledding. When practised on sand, it is known as a form of sandboarding. In Russia sledges are used for maritime activities including fishing and commuting from island to island on ice.
Steven Paul Holcomb was an American bobsledder who competed from 1998 until his death in 2017. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he won the four-man bobsled event for the United States, its first gold medal in that event since 1948. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he finished second in both the four-man and two-man event.
The Jamaica national bobsleigh team represents Jamaica in international bobsleighing competitions. The men's team debut in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games four-man bobsleigh in Calgary, Alberta, was received as underdogs in a cold weather sport represented by a nation with a tropical environment. Jamaica returned to the Winter Olympics in the two-man bobsleigh in 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014, and 2022; a women's team debuted in 2018.
Justin Kripps is a Canadian bobsledder and an Olympic champion in two-man bobsleigh following his gold medal win at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Kripps won a silver medal in the two-man event at the 2017 World Championships and a bronze in the mixed team event at the 2012 World Championships. He has competed in the sport since 2006 and has many World Cup podiums. During the 2017–18 Bobsleigh World Cup, he finished the season first in the two-man and overall, to win the Crystal Globe as overall champion.
Elana Meyers Taylor is an American Olympic bobsledder and World Champion who has competed since 2007. Born in Oceanside, California, Meyers Taylor was raised in Douglasville, Georgia and is a graduate of George Washington University, where she was a member of the softball team.
Moriam Seun Adigun is a Nigerian–American bobsledder, and track and field runner who specializes in the 100 metres hurdles. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but did not qualify from her heat. In 2016, Seun Adigun founded the Nigerian bobsled team. She represented Nigeria at the 2018 Winter Olympics in two-women bobsled, becoming part of the first-ever Winter Olympians from the country. Seun Adigun was the first ever African athlete who participated both in Summer and Winter Olympics.
Ngozi Whitney Onwumere, also known as Betty Onwumere is an American– Nigerian sprinter and bobsledder who competes internationally for Nigeria. In track, Onwumere specializes in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres and 4 x 100 metres relay. Ngozi claimed gold alongside Blessing Okagbare, Lawretta Ozoh and Cecilia Francis in the 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2015 All-Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo. She also represented Nigeria at the 2015 IAAF World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas. She represented Nigeria at the 2018 Winter Olympics in 2-women bobsled.
Bobsleigh at the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Alpensia Sliding Centre near Pyeongchang, South Korea. The events were scheduled to take place between 18 and 25 February 2018. A total of three bobsleigh events were held.
Germany competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 153 competitors in 14 sports. They won 31 medals in total, 14 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze, ranking second in the medal table after Norway at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Germany excelled in ice track events, biathlon, Nordic combined and Ski jumping. The men's ice hockey team took a silver medal, having lost a closely contested final to Olympic Athletes from Russia.
Austria competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 105 competitors in 12 sports. They won 14 medals in total: five gold, three silver and six bronze; ranking 10th in the medal table.
France competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 106 competitors in 11 sports. They won 15 medals in total, five gold, four silver and six bronze, ranking 9th in the medal table.
Italy competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 120 competitors in 14 sports. They won ten medals in total, three gold, two silver and five bronze, ranking 12th in the medal table. Short-track speed skater Arianna Fontana, who was also the flag bearer at the opening ceremony, was the country's most successful athlete, having won three medals, one of each color.
Latvia competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 34 competitors in 9 sports. They won one bronze medal in two-man bobsleigh and ranked 28th in the medal table.
Nigeria sent a delegation to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea from 9–25 February 2018. This marked the debut for the country at the Winter Olympics. The delegation consisted of three bobsledders, who finished 19th in the two-woman competition, and skeleton racer Simidele Adeagbo who came in 20th in the women's event.
Jamaica competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with three competitors in two sports.
Simidele Adeife Omonla Adeagbo, is a Nigerian skeleton racer who competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She is Nigeria and Africa's first female skeleton athlete. She was the first black female Olympian in the sport. In 2022, she won the woman's mono bob event in the 2022 EuroCup, held in Germany. In so doing, she became the first athlete from Africa to win an international sled race. Before competing in skeleton, Adeagbo competed in triple jump, last competing in 2008.
Alysia Rissling is a Canadian bobsledder. In 2015, she was the pilot for the first all-woman team in an official four-man bobsleigh race after the event became gender neutral. She competed in the two-woman bobsleigh event for Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics with Heather Moyse; the pair finished in 6th place.
Jamaica competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022.
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