First Female Nigerian Athlete to Win an Individual Olympics Medal "Falilat Ogunkoya"

First female Nigerian Athlete to win an Individual Olympics medal "Falilat Ogunkoya"

Falilat Ogunkoya was among the women that contributed immensely to the Nigeria sports. Today we tend to hear stories about male footballers and athletes, records they break or success they achieve forgetting and deviating from the success and achievement of the female participants. Due to the above, I have to research and present these quick facts about one of the most valued Nigeria record-breaker in Athletes Falilat Ogunkoya.

• Falilat Ogunkoya is a former Nigerian track and field athlete who hailed from Ode Remo Ogun state Nigeria. She has won lots of National and International championships.
  
  
• She was born on May 12, 1968, well known for the bronze medal she won in Atlanta 1996 in the 400 meters race with her finish time of 49.10. This made her standstill as a good record-breaker and the twelfth fastest of all time.
  
  
• She won the gold medal again in 1998,1999,2001 in the 400m race. She won a silver medal in the 200m at the All African games in Nairobi Kenya in 1987.
  
  
• Falilat was the first Nigerian woman to get an endorsement deal with Nike in 1987 till her retirement from Athletes in 2004.
  
  
• She's also the chairperson for the South West Athletics Association(SWAA) and popular for organizing grassroots games for the foundation.
  
  
• -Her first marriage with her trainer/manager crashed and she re-married to a professor at the University of Ghana named Oluwaseun Omotayo in 2007.
  
  
• She was decorated with the prestigious National Award of honour MON.
  
  
• She started her athletics career at the age of 12 

Writer: AdekunleMichealT

Editor(s): Fieldmarshal & Awe Olufunso
Publisher: Awe Olufunso