Islamic Solidarity Games: Cameroon’s Monie Shatters Nigeria’s Discus Dreams as Medal Table Slips

Cameroon’s Nora Atim Monie stunned the field on the opening day of athletics at the 6th Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by snatching gold in the women’s discus throw.

The event, held at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahad Stadium on Monday, was expected to be a Nigerian one-two finish, with Obiageri Pamela Amaechi and African record holder Chioma Onyekwere tipped to dominate.

However, Monie, who had thrown a national record of 61.33m earlier in July, defied expectations with a 57.04m fifth-round effort that overtook Obiageri’s 55.97m from round two.

Obiageri responded with a 56.99m throw in the fifth round, but it wasn’t enough to reclaim the lead, leaving her with silver.

Onyekwere, meanwhile, had a disappointing outing. Her best throw of 55.08m in the fifth round fell short of the 55.56m mark set by Turkey’s Ozlem Becerek in the first round, denying the Nigerian a podium finish altogether.

In the men’s 100m final, Nigeria’s Caleb Temidara John failed to complete the race after qualifying with a 10.42s run in the first semifinal. His compatriot, James Taiwo Emmanuel, did not advance to the final, placing sixth in the second semifinal with a time of 10.52s.

The setbacks in track and field compounded Nigeria’s struggles on day 14 of the Games, where the team managed only a single silver medal. As a result, Team Nigeria has dropped to eighth place on the medal table, tied with Morocco at 16 medals in total, six gold, six silver, and four bronze.

Turkey leads the standings with 70 medals, including 21 golds, while Iran, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco all sit ahead of Nigeria.

The decline marks a worrying trend for a nation that entered the Games with high expectations.