African Games: Again, Nigerian women outperform their male counterparts in sports

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The six women wrestlers registered for the Games – Odunayo Adekuoroye, Blessing Oborududu, Mercy Genesis, Hannah Reuben, Tolulope Ogunsanya, and Esther Kolawole – all won gold medals. Nigeria’s queen of the tracks, Oluwatobiloba Amusan, who won a third consecutive Games gold, also confirmed her status as a world-class athlete.This has not always been the case. Male boxer Nojim Maiyegun won Nigeria’s first Olympic Games medal at the 1964 Tokyo Games.

At the 2024 African Games in weightlifting, Nigeria won six gold medals. Five of these were by women – Jacinta Umunnakwe , Blessing Oraekwe , Cynthia Ogunsemilore , Patricia Mbata , and Joy Nene Ojo .PREMIUM TIMES asked some prominent sports journalists why Nigerian women are doing better than men in sports at international competitions. There are some of the factors they cited:

But Charles Ogundiya of the New Telegraph has a different view. “I think the responsibility of men, particularly in a place like Nigeria, plays a major part. Most of these male athletes you see have a lot they are going through as breadwinners, first sons, husbands, and the like. They give their best, but it may not be as commensurate as their female counterparts, who often have less baggage they are dealing with.

“Look at football, for example. Nigeria is one of the first African countries to start playing the game, so they have an edge. But you cannot say the same with men’s football. There are many sports like that where Nigeria is an early starter in the female category, and so, it gives the female athletes an edge that men don’t get because they are mostly on par or even behind the other countries,” Mr Ogundiya added.

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