The Lady Who Wants To Be Queen: Ramot Jimoh eager to follow in Ogunkoya’s path, sets sight on becoming an Olympian

Ramot Abike Jimoh wants to be an Olympian and believes she is on the path towards achieving that.

The 21-year-old has been phenomenal since she got a track scholarship to Mississippi State University in the USA in 2023.

Since her debut in the Collegiate circuit in the USA, Jimoh has set new personal bests in all the events she has participated in, and between last month and now, she has improved on some of these records.

A former football player, Jimoh was discovered in 2021 by respected and renowned track and field coach, chief Tony Osheku at the Ogbomosho 10km road race sponsored by Sunday Akin, an indigene of the town who was Nigeria’s Minister for Youth and Sports Development at the time.

Chief Osheku took her under his tutelage and Jimoh has proved her talent is better appreciated in track and field.

The distance runner has eyes focused on becoming an Olympian to follow in the footsteps of her role model, Falilat Ogunkoya who made history as the first Nigerian to win an individual Olympic medal and the first and only one to win two medals at the same edition of the quadrennial event.

Jimoh reveals her journey to Mississippi State University would not have been possible if Ogunkoya had not told her coach to facilitate it.

For this, she says she will eternally be grateful to the reigning African 400m record holder and four-time World Athletics Championships finalist.

‘I want to extend my appreciation to Falilat Ogunkoya, who has been instrumental in my journey to America. She was the one who encouraged my coach to help me attend Mississippi State University.

‘Ogunkoya is an incredible former track athlete and Olympic medalist, and I aspire to emulate her greatness in my own athletic career. She is my role model, and I firmly believe that one day-if not soon-I will become an Olympic medalist and champion,’ wrote Jimoh in a post on her school’s X page.

Jimoh’s likely path to the Olympics could be in the 800m where she ran a new 2:04.97 lifetime best this indoor season to move to number two in the Nigerian all-time indoor list behind Abike Egbeniyi.

Track and field watchers are confident she can lower that when the outdoor season starts, and may become the first Nigerian woman to break two minutes in the two full laps race.