Nigerians meet their Olympic bobsled team

Yahoo – AFP, Phil HAZLEWOOD, with Jim Slater in Washington, Feb 3, 2018

Nigeria's Seun Adigun (L), Ngozi Onwumere (2L) and Akuoma Omeoga (C) will
become the first African bobsleigh team in Winter Olympic history while Simi
Adeagbo (R) will be the first African to compete in the skeleton (AFP Photo/Stefan HEUNIS)

Lagos (AFP) - Nigerians met their Winter Olympic bobsled team for the first time just one week before the start of the Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Thirty years after a Jamaican squad became a global sensation, the trio of Nigerian women Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga will become the first African bobsleigh team in Winter Olympic history.

Born to Nigerian parents they all live in the United States but travelled to Lagos for a rousing Nigerian send-off on Friday night at a corporate reception held in their honour at a luxury hotel.

Their qualification late last year for the February 9-25 Games has since attracted massive interest around the world and won the previously crowd-funded athletes a string of big-name sponsors.

Many people in Africa's most populous nation said they were unaware the country even had a bobsled team. Some were keen to play up their supposed ignorance for comic effect.

"So, you are the driver?" the comedian compering the event said, pointing at Adigun.

"And you are the brake... appliers," he ventured eagerly to Onwumere and Omeoga, as if searching for the correct terminology. "And what is that thing you are pushing? A wheelbarrow?"

"First question," he asked the women's team-mate Simi Adeagbo, who will also make history by becoming the first African to compete in the skeleton. "What is that?"

Despite being new to hurtling down an icy track at 150 kilometres (93 miles) per hour, Nigerians -- noted more for their passion for football -- are happy to cheer the team on.

On the hotel's rooftop bar, with temperatures still in the mid-30s Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) by late evening, guests drank champagne and ate "small chop" (finger food). Dance music distorted through a skyscraper of loud-speakers. Most people arrived late. Everyone blamed bad traffic.

But Nigeria's pioneering winter sports team were made to feel at home with fairy lights and Christmas snowflake decorations twinkling overhead, above white plastic sheeting stuck to the floor with gaffer tape.

Nigerian bobsled team member Seun Adigun was a 100m hurdler for Nigeria 

at the 2012 London Summer Olympics (AFP Photo/Stefan HEUNIS)

Dry ice and cotton wool

To complete the frozen idyll, a bored-looking teenager wearing a single red rubber glove operated a dry ice machine that sent damp-smelling fog curling over snow drifts of cotton wool.

Nearby, air conditioning units were set to the equivalent of 16 degrees -- a good 10 degrees below the temperature that normally makes some in tropical Nigeria don a hat and coat.

The team took the gentle ribbing with good humour, batting back comparisons to Jamaica's participation in the 1988 Games in Calgary, Canada, that led to the 1993 Hollywood film "Cool Runnings".

Adigun is the driving force behind the team's Olympic dream, from working with the US team to learn the sport to hammering and nailing together a makeshift wooden sled in Houston and gathering fellow sprinters to make a run at history.

She was a 100m hurdler for Nigeria at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Omeoga was a sprinter for the University of Minnesota and Onwumere was a double sprint medalist at the 2015 African Games.

"I basically got into the sport of bobsledding in 2015 after a little bit of a hiatus from athletics," the US magazine People recently.

"I also learned that Nigeria had never had any Winter Olympians... and then to cap it off I learned the continent of Africa had never been represented, man or woman, by any bobsleigh team.

Their qualification last year for the Olympic Games has won previously 

crowd-funded athletes (L-R): Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere, and Akuoma 

Omeoga a string of big-name sponsors (AFP Photo/Stefan HEUNIS)

"So I was like, 'OK, this is obviously something that's going to hang over my head if I don't step in and try and do something about it."

At the reception, questions about the basics of the sport -- from timings to the number of people participating -- were met with polite responses.

But in a country where self-sufficiency is a matter of life and death for most people, the women's hard work and commitment to achieving their goals got the loudest cheer.

Adigun explained that once she had told herself out loud that she was going to try to make the Winter Olympics there was no going back.

"Once you speak (something) into existence, that's an affirmation that you're going to commit," she added.

"Can you speak gold into existence?" asked the compere.

Adigun smiled. Then the dancing started.

Saudi Arabia picks princess to head women's sports

Saudi Arabia has selected Princess Reema bint Bandar as the country's de facto minister for women's sports. This year, the kingdom doubled the number of its female athletes from two to four.

Deutsche Welle, 3 Aug 2016

Saudi's Cabinet announced on Tuesday that Princess Reema would head the General Authority for Sports without disclosing further details about her role.

The daughter of the ex-ambassador to the US, Princess Reema spent much of her youth in Washington, D.C. "I am honored to serve my country," she was quoted as saying by the SPA state news agency.

Female athletics have historically not been encouraged in the kingdom, though recently there have been calls for change. In an unprecedented move, one state school introduced sports for girls in 2014.

Evolving on women's sports

In an interview with Fast Company magazine, Princess Reema said she has been working to promote women's empowerment in the country.

"Our society tend to change a bit slower than other," she told the magazine last year. "We have to explain to people that it's evolution, not Westernization."

The Cabinet's announcement comes as the kingdom gears up for the 2014 Olympic Games in Rio, where four of its women athletes will compete alongside seven male athletes. That number represents an increase of 50 percent from the number of Saudi women who competed in the last Olympic games.

blc/kms (AFP, AP)

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"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”

Uganda Olympic champion Kiprotich given hero's welcome

BBC News, 15 August 2012

Kiprotich travelled in open-top car with the number plate "UG GOLD"

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Crowds in Uganda have given a hero's welcome to Stephen Kiprotich, the country's first Olympic gold medal winner in 40 years.

Kiprotich, a prison warden who won the men's marathon on Sunday, was then presented with a cheque for $80,000 (£51,000) by President Yoweri Museveni.

He was also promoted nine ranks to become an assistant superintendent in the prisons service.

Mr Museveni promised that more would be done to invest in athletes in future. 

Convoy blocked

Kiprotich asked the president
to build his parents a house

The BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga in Entebbe says people lined the street as Kiprotich waved from an open-top car with the personalised number plate "UG GOLD".

At one stage the convoy was forced to stop by the crowds blocking the road on the way to State House, where Kiprotich had breakfast with the president, she says.

After Kiprotich was presented with the cheque, he asked the president if he would build a house for his parents in north-eastern Kapchorwa district.

Mr Museveni agreed that a three-bedroom house would be constructed.

The president also admitted that funding in sports had suffered as the country had concentrated on development projects such as building schools and roads.

But he promised that in future all athletes who won international medals would receive a 1m Ugandan shillings (about $400) monthly stipend to help them train.

A high-altitude training school would also be built, he promised.

Correspondents say the reaction in Uganda to Kiprotich's victory has been euphoric.

Thestate-owned Vision media group set up a fund to raise prize money for therunner after he won on Sunday - and in three hours raised more than $100,000 - it aims to make it to $500,000.

Uganda's last Olympic champion was 400m hurdler John Akii-Bua, who won gold at Munich in 1972.

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Somali Olympians deny seeking asylum over threats

BBC News, 12 August 2012

The Islamist al-Shabab group oppose activities they deem to be "Western",
including certain sports

Somalia - Failed State 

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One of two Somali athletes competing at the Olympic Games in London has denied that they are seeking asylum in the UK.

Mohamed Hassan Mohamed, a 1,500m runner, told the BBC Somali Service they both intended to return home.

Earlier his compatriot Zamzam Mohamed Farah, who ran in the first heat of the women's 400m, spoke of the threats she has faced since competing.

Somalia has been devastated by two decades of conflict and an al-Qaeda group controls many areas.

Its last functioning national government was ousted in 1991 and the resulting vacuum has enabled both pirates and lawlessness to flourish.

'Worried'

Mr Mohammed, 20, told the BBC that he and Ms Farah were going back to the capital, Mogadishu, this coming Tuesday.

He admitted that they were worried about the threats they had received but they did not intend to stay in the UK and apply for asylum as some reports had suggested.

The Islamist al-Shabab, which joined al-Qaeda in February and controls much of rural southern and central Somalia, oppose activities they deem to be "Western", including certain sports.

Ms Farah told London-based Universal TV that she had been singled out for carrying the national flag at the opening ceremony and "exposing herself" during her race.

An observant Muslim, the 21-year-old took to the track in a headscarf and with her arms and legs covered. She also ran while fasting, in accordance with the holy month of Ramadan, the television reported.

"There are a lot of threats coming through both Facebook and on the telephone. My parents have also been called and were informed that what I did was not a good thing and that once I return, I will be dealt with."

She added that Mohamed had been told that "there is a cross on his head and that if he returns to Mogadishu, his head will be no more". 

Mo Farah left Somalia as a child and
now competes for Team GB

In April, the president of Somalia's Olympic Committee, Aden Yabarow Wiish, and the Somali Football Federation chief, Said Mohamed Nur, were killed in a suicide attack in Mogadishu.

In 2010, al-Shabab said it carried out twin bombings in Uganda which killed more than 70 people who had gathered to watch the World Cup final on TV.

But for several months, the group has come under pressure on several military fronts and the capital is now mainly under the control of African Union peacekeepers.

Correspondents say despite continued insecurity and assassinations in the city this has led to a construction boom and hopes that the UN-backed process under way to elect a new government and president this month will bring more stability to the country.

Speaking before the games, Ms Farah, who shares the name of the two-time Olympic gold winner Mo Farah - a Somali-born British athlete, said medals were not a priority for her: "I am not going for pride... I will be representing my flag, my soil and its people."

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Standing ovation for hijab-wearing Saudi woman athlete as she finishes Olympic 800m heat almost a whole lap behind fellow competitors

African Olympics pavilion closes with debts outstanding

BBC News, 9 August 2012

Africa Village has showcased cultural, artistic and sporting displays
from across the continent 

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The hospitality centre for African nations competing in the Olympics has had to close because of unpaid debts, a spokesman has confirmed.

Africa Village, set up in Kensington Gardens, west London, owes suppliers hundreds of thousands of pounds, Laurent Bagnis said.

He said an exact figure was not yet known.

A meeting is to be held to establish whether the venue can open later for its Tunisia Day.

It is the first time at an Olympic Games that the 53 African national Olympic Committees have come together to host one, specially dedicated house.

Located opposite the Royal Albert Hall, it has an exhibition area and restaurant open to the public and a reception area for Games officials, athletes and sponsors.

Since it opened on 28 July it has received 80,000 visitors, said communications director Mr Bagnis.

He said it had closed on Wednesday, adding a meeting was going to be held to "solve the situation".

Asked if reports that £395,000 is owed are correct, he said: "We have a lot of figures. I don't know which is right at the moment."

Tunisia Day was supposed to feature a line-up of live music.

Standing ovation for hijab-wearing Saudi woman athlete as she finishes Olympic 800m heat almost a whole lap behind fellow competitors

• American-based Sarah Attar is the first Saudi track athlete to compete in the Olympics
• Runs 800m heat in time of 2:44.95, nearly 45 seconds behind the winner
• Saudi Olympic Committee only allowed women to take part in June

Daily Mail, by Adam Shergod, 8 August 2012

 

They say in the Olympics it's not the winning that counts, but the taking part.

And that was certainly the case this morning as Sarah Attar, the first female track athlete to compete for Saudi Arabia in the Olympics, was cheered every step of the way in her 800m heat.

In the end, she completed the two laps of the track nearly 45 seconds behind the winner, but her participation alone represented an historic moment.

Saudi Arabia's Sarah Attar (centre) waves to the crowd in the Olympic
Stadium as she lines up in heat six of the women's 800m this morning

Attar completed the two laps of the 800m in a time of two minutes
44.95 seconds, nearly 45 seconds behind the leader

Dressed in a long-sleeved green training top, long jogging bottoms and a white hijab, she certainly stood out on the start line in sweltering heat in the Olympic Stadium.

And it was quickly obvious that Attar wasn't going to be able to keep pace with the rest of the field as she fell a long way behind.

But whatever the sport, Olympic crowds love a plucky trier and Attar was given a standing ovation as she crossed the finish line, almost a full lap behind the others.

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Her time of two minutes 44.95 seconds was a long way behind that recorded by the winner, Kenya's Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei, who ran two minutes 01.04 seconds.

It doesn't matter though, because Attar is making history as one half of the first ever women's team to represent Saudi Arabia.

Speaking after the race, she said: 'It is such an honour to be representing Saudi Arabia. Hopefully this can make such a huge difference.

'It was such a unique opportunity [to represent Saudi Arabia], they invited me and welcomed me and to make that first step for women is just the most amazing feeling ever.'

Attar is the first female Saudi track athlete to participate in the Olympics
 after the nation's Olympic Committee overturned a ban on women. She was
given a standing ovation as she crossed the finish line

Her teammate, the judoka Wojdan Shaherkani, wrote her name into Olympic history on Friday when she was defeated by Puerto Rican Melissa Mojica in a first round bout.

The fight only lasted a minute but Shaherkani will forever have the distinction of being the first Saudi female Olympian.

The pair were forced to walk behind the male Saudi athletes in the Opening Ceremony parade of nations, a symbol of an ultra-conservative country in which women are actively discouraged from participating in sport.

The judoka Wojdan Shaherkani (left), getting to grips with Puerto Rican
Melissa Mojica in a first round bout, is the other woman in the Saudi squad

Both were given rapturous receptions by the British crowds as they took part in their events and their presence in London represents a giant stride forward for gender equality in their country.

Attar, 19, was born and raised in California and trains at Pepperdine University in Malibu, where she is studying art.

She has dual nationality because of her Saudi father Amer and chose to represent the Middle Eastern country.

The Saudi Olympic Committee overturned a ban on women athletes in June despite strong opposition from many quarters of society.

But officials demanded that all female competitors would be dressed 'to preserve their dignity' - hence the modest, long-sleeved garments and hijab covering the hair.

It was reported before the Games that Pepperdine University had been asked to remove photographs from an online biography of Attar because they showed her in a tank top and shorts with no hijab.

In Saudi Arabia, most women cover their heads and faces in public and wear a black cloak called an abaya.

She is one of a number of Middle Eastern track athletes who have competed in hijabs at the London Games, including Noor Hussain Al-Malki of Qatar and Shinoona Salah al-Habsi of Oman.

Noor Hussain Al-Malki (L) of Qatar pulled up injured during her 100m heat
and Oman's Shinoona Salah Al-Habsi (R) crosses the line in her 100m hea
on Friday

There were similar scenes in the Olympic Stadium when the Somalian 400m runner Zamzam Mohamed Farah finished nearly half a minute after the winner in her heat on Friday.

Wearing a blue hijab and 'modest' clothing, Farah was applauded by the crowd as she crossed the line.

Training facilities in Somalia are virtually non-existent, with those that do operate often pock-marked with bullet-holes.

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