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‘Gold, silver and bronze have I all’
Any athlete would typically consider anything less than gold to be a comforting thing.
Olayinka Olajide, one of the breakout stars of Nigerian athletics at the recently ended 2023 African Games in Ghana, is an example of an athlete who may achieve something exceptional when they are able to win gold, silver, and bronze at a single event.
The 21-year-old, who was running the second leg of the women's 4x100-meter relay team that also included Justina Eyakpobeyan, Moforehan Abinusawa, and Tobi Amusan, earned bronze in the women's 100-meter race, silver in the 200-meter race, and gold in the overall event. This was her first time competing internationally for Nigeria.
She started the women's 100-meter final with a bronze, earning Nigeria its first medal in the games' history in athletics.
Probably the hardest medal for her to win, that bronze came from edging out Claudine Njarasoa of Madagascar by a tenth of a second at the finish line. She became the first Nigerian woman to win a medal in the same event at the African Games since Oludamola Osayomi, Blessing Okagbare, and Gloria Asumnu swept the podium at the Maputo Games in 2011.
She improved to silver in the 200-meter final, finishing second with a personal best time of 23.18 seconds (-2.6). In the 200m, Gambia's Gina Bass came dangerously close to winning gold, finishing in 23.14 seconds.
She finished her medal run on Wednesday, running the second leg of the women's 4x100-meter relay before Friday's 200-meter final.
As this is my first international tournament and I'm taking home the gold, silver, and bronze medals, I believe that right now I will give myself a 100/100. I'm not leaving here without a win. Making of Champions was recounted by Olajide, "I'm glad I did it. My coach put in the work and I executed."
"It's really amazing how blessed I feel. We put a lot of effort into the 4x100m, so let me just say that hard work pays off. Our training began in Abuja and continued here in Ghana. Before the race, we worked on the baton exchange some more because we were so committed to finishing the assignment.
Following her breakthrough performance in the MOC/MTN Champs athletics in Ibadan earlier this year, Olajide's road to Accra got underway at the national trials in February. There, she set a new personal best in the women's 100m, running the quickest time by a Nigerian woman this year.
"I have butterflies in my stomach from excitement. I must truly be grateful to my coach. I can now see that perseverance pays off. After the trials, she remarked, "There were moments when I wanted to give up because the training was so difficult and intense, but I'm so happy now that I've seen the results."
Olajide will be excited to compete on the international scene for the second time, first at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and then at the African Athletics Championships in Cameroon in June.