| Nigeria at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | NGR |
| NOC | Nigeria Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| in Rio de Janeiro | |
| Competitors | 77 in 10 sports |
| Flag bearer | Olufunke Oshonaike[1] |
| Medals Ranked 78th |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Nigeria competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from August 5 to 21, 2016. Since the nation made its debut in 1952, Nigerian athletes had appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal because of the African boycott.
Nigeria Olympic Committee fielded a squad of 77 athletes, 51 men and 26 women, to compete in ten sports at the Games.[2] It was the nation's largest delegation sent to the Olympics since 2000, increasing by a third of its full roster size at London 2012. Among the sports represented by the nation's athletes, Nigeria marked its Olympic debut in rowing, as well as its return to swimming and men's football after an eight-year hiatus. Apart from the men's football squad, Nigeria also returned to the Olympic scene in men's basketball for the second consecutive time.[3]
Topping the list of most experienced athletes on the Nigerian roster were table tennis players Segun Toriola, who set a record as Africa's first ever athlete to feature in seven Olympics, and Olufunke Oshonaike, who became the first female from her country to compete at her sixth consecutive Games.[4] Other notable Nigerian competitors also included sprinter and 2008 bronze medalist Blessing Okagbare, British-born slalom kayaker Jonathan Akinyemi, basketball players Chamberlain Oguchi and Alade Aminu, and weightlifting veteran Mariam Usman (women's +75 kg). Football midfielder John Obi Mikel was named the captain of the Nigerian squad, while Oshonaike acted as both his assistant and the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.[2][1]
Nigeria left Rio de Janeiro with only a bronze medal won by the men's football squad (captained by Mikel), scoring a 3–2 triumph over the Hondurans.[5][6]
- ^ a b "Elegant Funke Oshonaike is Team Nigeria's flag bearer". Nigeria Olympic Committee. 1 August 2016. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ a b Sulola, Remi (26 July 2016). "Mikel to captain of 78-man Team Nigeria to Olympics". The Cable. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ "Nigeria head to Olympics with nine AfroBasket 2015 champions". FIBA. 1 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ "ITTF recognizes Nigerian Segun Toriola's Olympic feat". Nigeria: The News Journal. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (20 August 2016). "Olympics 2016: Nigeria beat Honduras to win men's football bronze". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ "Rio Olympics review: Team Nigeria, 77 athletes, one medal". Nigerian Tribune. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.