Four ‘Nigerians’ bidding to win World U20 medals for other countries

Yemisi Ogunleye and Salwa Eid Nasser (Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu) are ‘Nigerians’ who won Olympic medals for other countries at the Paris 2024 Olympics while the real Nigerian contingent of 34 athletes (plus one injured one) came back without a medal.

It is looking like the scenario will be repeated within the same month at the World U20 Athletics Championships which will hold next week in Lima, the capital of Peru.
The only difference will be that some ‘real’ Nigerians are likely to make it to the podium this time around.

But there are ‘Nigerians’, a few of whom are looking like champions-in-waiting, who will wear other countries colors in Lima.

Sportsnow.com.ng will highlight just four of them who bear Nigeria names but who will be competing for countries outside their father land, as it were.

One of the athletes, Udeme Okon is competing for South Africa, another, Elizabeth Ndudi will be jumping for Ireland while the other two, Akaoma Odeluga and Ethan Ayodele will be competing for USA and Canada respectively.

Okon, with 45.41, is the fastest 400m runner among those who will be competing for the full lap gold and the 18 year old is tipped to win the gold.

Also tipped to win the gold medal is Odeluga, who is coming to the championships as the world leader in the Shot Put with her 18.13m throw. This could be another Ogunleye who won the Shot Put gold for Germany at the Olympics.

A certain Ndudi, born in Dublin, Ireland to a Nigerian father and a Dutch-Irish mother, will be contesting for a long jump medal with Prestina Ochonogor, the bonafide Nigerian registered by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria for the competition.

Ndudi is coming to Lima with a 6.68m best which is bettered by Ochonogor’s 6.79m and Sophia Beckmon of USA’s 6.86m leap.

The trio could share the medal in that order, or one of the two ‘Nigerians’ upset the American to win the gold.

In the Discus throw, Ayodele looks more like one who will make the final than one who will make the podium.

He is ranked fifth with his 62.92m effort in April this year.