INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

populace i.e. the tax payer expects nothing but resounding victory at
the Olympics. One of the objectives of sport development in Nigeria
as stated in the guidelines for implementation of sport development
policy is to provide the nation with the opportunity of measuring its
sporting might against those of other nations of the world, with a view
to establishing a respectable position for Nigeria in the sporting
community of the world. For this reason, the nation is not leaving any
stone unturned in ensuring participation at the Olympic Games.
Nigeria’s first appearance at the Olympics was in Helsinki,
Finland in 1952. Nigeria won her first gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta
Olympics. The medal was won in long jump women event and later
during the same Games, Nigeria’s football team also won a gold
medal.
At present, the country is recording a dwindling fortune in
sporting activities which many believe is due to some problems
confronting the sports managers charged with the responsibilities of
developing our sports despite having a great number of talented men
and women in various aspects of sports (Dairo 2001).
According to the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) records
(2001), Nigeria has had thirteen appearances in the Olympics from
1952 to 2002. The update of Nigeria’s performance is as follows in
terms of medals won so far:
1964: Tokyo Japan 1 bronze medal (Boxing)
1972: Mexico 1 bronze medal (Boxing)
1984: Los Angeles USA 1 silver medal (Boxing),
1 bronze medal (Athletics)
1992: Barcelona Spain 2 silver medals (Boxing),
1 silver & 1 bronze medal (Athletics)
1996: Atlanta USA 2 gold medals (athletics & football),
1 silver & 2 bronze medals (athletics)
2000: Sydney, Australia 2 silver medals (athletics)
1 silver medal (weightlifting)
Out of twenty-one Olympic sports that exist in Nigeria, the records
as stated below indicated that ten sports had participated so far and
only four had been able to win medals since the nation’s debut in the
Olympics in 1952.
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