Sports is Nigeria’s biggest unifying factor, we bring you Nigeria’s top four iconic sporting moments in history as Nigerians celebrate nationhood at 64 as a United nation.
Najeem Mayegun won Nigeria’s Olympic Medal
Nigeria won her first-ever Olympic medal, four years after independence when Najeem Mayegun won after winning bronze in the men’s light middleweight (71kg) category at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
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Mayegun opened the gates of medals for Nigeria at the Olympics.
Nigeria now has a total of 27 medals at the Olympics with three of Golden.
May God bless the soul of Pa Mayegun who died earlier this year at 84 years old.
Chioma Ajunwa Golden Moment
Nigeria’s golden moment at the Olympics came at the 1996 edition in Atalanta.
Chioma Ajunwa became the first African to win a gold medal in the field event at any Olympics as she won Nigeria’s first-ever Olympic gold medal.
Her record of Nigeria’s only individual gold medal winner at the Olympics still holds.
Olympic Football Gold Medal Like World Cup
Another moment Nigerian sports lovers are always proud of was the Atlanta 96 Olympics gold medal-winning moment for the dream team of Nigeria.
The Kanu Nwankwo-led team defeated the highly rated Brazilian side, which has the real Ronaldo Delima, Bebeto, Dunga and co-fresh from the USA 94 World Cup.
A moment for Africa as a continent beyond football.
Super Eagles Exploits At USA 94 World Cup
The exploits of the Super Eagles in their first-ever World Cup in the USA were moments Nigerians will forever remain evergreen in the hearts of true Super Eagles fans.
The Super Eagles opened their debut World Cup match with a 3-0 victory over Bulgaria, lost to Argentina 2-1 and defeated Greece 2-0 to top their group and qualify for the second round.
The team eventually bowed gallantly to the eventual runner-up by 2-1 after leading the game 1-0 for 88 minutes but inexperience and heroics of Roberto Baggio ensured the Super Eagles fiery tale ended in the extra time.
They however left their indelible mark at the World Cup with their brave and entertaining brand of football as named the Super Eagles as the second most entertaining team behind the eventual winner, Brazil.
The team is regarded as the best Super Eagles team ever, reflecting the abundance of talent in the land, as we still have an abundance of Okochas, Finidis, Yekinis, Stephen Keshis, and Olisehs, waiting to be discovered and exposed with the right structures in place.
The world governing body of football, FIFA ranked the Super Eagles number 5 in the world, the highest level ever attained by an African side to date.
A proud moment for Nigerians indeed.
