AFTER a week of intense competition for medals by paralympians from different continents of the world, the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games, which began on August 28, will end tomorrow, September 7, in Paris, France.
Team Nigeria, after a dismal showing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, is being represented at the ongoing Paralympics by a contingent of 35 athletes who are accompanied by a team of coaches and medical personnel.
In view of the painful fact that the Nigerian Olympic contingent had posted another barren outing in spite of the huge government support, the 2024 Paralympic Games became a significant opportunity for the country’s paralympians to restore the nation’s pride on the global stage.
Therefore, immediately the 2024 Summer Paralympics commenced in Paris, all eyes were on the 35 athletes as Nigerians waited with bated breaths to see how they would again rescue the damaged reputation of the country after the mishap in the earlier held Olympics Games.
Such high expectations weren’t unfounded because since the country debuted at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain, the Paralympians have never witnessed any drought. Even when their able-bodied counterparts finished the Olympics without a medal as they did on eight different occasions, the physically challenged athletes always showed up for the country.
In their debut in 1992, the Paralympics team which featured in three events namely athletics, powerlifting and table tennis, returned from Barcelona with three gold medals. Adeoye Ajibola won two gold medals in athletics while powerlifter, Monday Emoghawve, clinched the other gold in powerlifting.
From the glorious outing in Barcelona, Team Paralympics has not looked back as the physically challenged athletes with unyielding spirits have continued to increase their medal haul which now stands at 83 medals since 1992.
A breakdown of the medals shows that the Paralympians have won 41 gold, 20 silver and 22 bronze medals. They returned with three gold from Barcelona in 1992, three gold, two silver and three bronze medals from Atlanta ’96 Summer Paralympic Games, seven gold, one silver and five silver from Sydney in 2000 and five gold, four silver and three bronze at the Athens Paralympics in 2004.
At the Beijing Games in China, Team Paralympics returned with four gold, four silver and one bronze medal, at London Paralympics in 2012, they won six gold, five silver and two bronze medals and at Rio de Janeiro 2016, the Paralympians recorded their best-ever performance with eight gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
And at the 2020 Tokyo Games, the Paralympians returned with four gold, one silver and five bronze medals. As stated earlier, there hasn’t been barrenness in the Paralympics for Nigeria since her debut in 1992 just as the Paralympians are yet to miss gold at any of the editions.
So, while the able-bodied athletes have managed to win only three gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze for a total of 27 medals in 18 appearances beginning from 1952, the Paralympians with a modest eight appearances have raked in a whopping 82 medals.
It must be noted also that while the country has produced only one individual gold medallist at the Olympics, Nigeria can boast of over 23 individual gold medallists in the Paralympics Games. The retired Policewoman, Chioma Ajunwa, remains Nigeria’s only individual gold medallist at the Olympics. She achieved the feat in the long jump event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. So, after 28 years, Team Nigeria is yet to produce another individual gold medallist.
