Nigeria’s first ever cyclist – man or woman – faced a dilemma during the Paris 2024 Olympics when she did not have a bike to compete in two track events. But the German team came to her rescue when they let Ese Ukpeseraye borrow a bike from them.
In a post on August 7 on X, formerly Twitter, Canyon SRAM said, “Special thanks to the German track team for providing Ese Ukpeseraye with a track bike after she received a late call up for the Keirin and Sprint events at #Paris2024.”
Ukpeseraye, 25, then took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 8, to thank the German team herself. She said, “Due to the short notice of me competing at the keirin and sprint, #teamNigeria I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks. In the spirit of sportsmanship the German team came to my rescue by offering me a bicycle. Thank you.”
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), she was registered for the women’s road race but competed in two track events, which required a different kind of bike at a “short notice”. The post by Ukpeseraye made netizens speak up and condemn Team Nigeria’s organisational failings.
This criticism led to the sports minister of Nigeria, John Owan Enoh, to address the situation, insisting it was unavoidable. According to reports, he said the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world’s foremost cycling authority, offered Nigeria last minute slots in two women’s track events “due to disqualification of a country”.
According to Enoh, this offer was made after the rest of team Nigeria had already arrived in Paris for the games. He posted on X, saying, “For this track race reallocated to Team Nigeria, a very special equipment (approved specifically for the Olympic track game) is used. It’ll take months to have it delivered after ordering and making payment.”
However, this isn’t the first time the organisation has faced such an incident. Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili discovered last minute that her name had been left off the entry list for the women’s 100m race.
Ukpeseraye, however, did not win a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. At the first event, women’s road race, she failed to complete the 154km route, among a number of athletes. She also missed out on the finals of the two track events, as she came in sixth and 28th place in her Keirin heat and Sprint qualifiers, respectively.
According to reports, after her first event, she told the Nigerian media, “It was an honour to represent Nigeria at this level. Although I couldn’t finish the race, being here is a victory in itself.”
On one of her posts on X, she says she has “set the ball rolling for cycling in Nigeria”.
