- Nigeria’s Olympic cyclist has thanked the German for lending her a bicycle to compete
- Netizens react to disturbing news on borrowed bicycle
- The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh clarifies the news on Ese
Nigerian cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye had to borrow a bike from the German cycling team to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games. Ukpeseraye, who was informed at the last minute about her races in the Keirin and Sprint repechage, thanked her German opponent, Bund Deutscher Radfahrer, on Twitter for helping her with a bike for the events.
I had no bicycle to race with - Ese
During the 2024 Olympics, Nigerian cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye shared that she had to borrow a bike from a German athlete to take part in the Keirin and Sprint competitions.
“Due to the short notice of me competing at the Keirin & Sprint, #teamNigeria I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks.”
“In d spirit of sportsmanship, the German team @bunddeutscherradfahr came to my rescue by offering me a bicycle.”
“Thank you,” Ukpeseraye stated.
While many laughed it off, a good number of Nigerians filled her comment section with rage over the inadequacies and inefficiency of the Nigerian sports ministry and the country’s Olympic committee in Paris which indicated the lack of readiness to compete with global counterparts when it comes to international events.
Netizens react to claim by Olympic cyclist
The Cycling Federation of Nigeria has come under scrutiny following claims made by Olympic cyclist, Ese which has sparked widespread mockery, criticism and a flurry of reactions from netizens.
Below are some of the reactions.
“Meanwhile, the Minister of Sports (whoever he is) is in Paris, lodging in fine hotels, eating fine food, drinking fine wine and collecting estacodes, all on the money that come out of your pockets, but our Olympic cyclist DOES NOT have a bike.
A bike!” @ronaldnzimora stated furiously.
“What is actually happening to NIGERIA?????
So, Ese Ukpeseraye was not given a bicycle by the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to compete at the Olympic.
Thanks to the German team for borrowing the Nigeria's Cyclist a bicycle.
Favour Ofili name was omitted and till now, nobody responsible for the omission of her name has been sacked or sanctioned, now this??
@NGRSenate what is happening?? Akpabio still eating and can’t see??” @UnlimitedEniola asked.
“A Nigerian cyclist borrowed a bicycle from a German cyclist to train for Olympic Games. In a country that bought multimillion dollar bullet proof SUV for National Assembly members. And you don’t want Nigerians to protest? Thunder fire you hundred time,” @Shehusky commented.
Sports Minister Enoh clarifies Ese’s misconstrued allegation
Senator John Enoh, Nigeria’s Minister of Sports Development, explained that Nigeria had initially qualified for just one road race in cycling. But two weeks before the Olympics, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced that Nigeria could also compete in the Keirin and individual sprint events because another country had been disqualified.
Enoh said on X that this last-minute addition required special track bikes, which usually took months to get. To allow Ukpeseraye to compete, the Nigerian Cycling Federation, with help from her European club and a German company, managed to get a track bike for her in time for the event.
Paris Olympics 2024: Tobi Amusan shines bright as she advances into semifinal
Previously, TheRadar reported that Tobi Amusan, the current world champion, progressed to the semi-finals of the 100-meter hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday, August 7.
She led the race with a time of 12.49 seconds, with the USA’s Alaysha Johnson finishing second at 12.61 seconds and Jamaica’s Janeek Brown third at 12.84 seconds. Amusan is a strong contender for the gold medal but will have to compete against formidable athletes such as Devynne Charlton from the Bahamas, the USA’s Johnson, world champion Danielle Williams, and Puerto Rico’s reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Friday, August 9, and the final will be held on Saturday, August 10.
