Ese Lovina Ukpeseraye competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics without her own bicycle, leaving Nigerian fans astonished.
Ukpeseraye took to social media to express her gratitude to the German authorities who stepped in to assist her shortly before her event.
In response, fans have called on Nigeria’s Minister of Sports to investigate all relevant federations and hold those responsible accountable.
Nigerian authorities are facing criticism after cyclist Ese Lovina Ukpeseraye had to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics without her own bicycle.
Ukpeseraye made history as the first Nigerian to participate in cycling at the Summer Games, qualifying by excelling in three separate events, including a road race and two track cycling competitions.
Due to the short notice of her participation in the keirin and sprint events, Ukpeseraye, representing Team Nigeria, found herself in a difficult situation without a bicycle to race on. Fortunately, the German team came to her aid by lending her a bike, as reported by Punch.
The 25-year-old Nigerian athlete finished 4th in her heat on Wednesday, narrowly missing out on a podium finish.
Ukpeseraye shared her gratitude on social media, writing on X:
“Due to the short notice of me competing in the keirin & sprint events, #teamNigeria I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks. In the spirit of sportsmanship, the German team @bunddeutscherradfahr came to my rescue by offering me a bicycle.”
Nigerians reacted strongly to the situation, with many demanding explanations from the authorities.
@jostezz_ commented: “Just represent Germany next time; we will understand since Nigeria can’t be proactive.”
@s_mofficial added: “I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life. What a shame.”
@zubidavies said: “Just imagine what those foreigners must think of us as a country. If you look at the Olympic Games, you’ll see that our investment in sports is terrible. Some sports haven’t even crossed anyone’s mind here.”
@PoojaMedia added: “The Minister must investigate many federations after this Olympics if it’s true that funds were released for this.”
#Paris2024@Paris2024
Due to the short notice of me competing at the keirin & Sprint, #teamNigeria I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks. In d spirit of sportsmanship the German team @bunddeutscherradfahr came to my rescue by offering me a bicycle.
Thank you🙌🙌🙌 https://t.co/OZf8tPZ3gS pic.twitter.com/AyrtQqrCe7— Ese lovina Ukpeseraye (@Ese_Ukpeseraye) August 8, 2024