Nigerian Olympic cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye thanks German team for bike loan

John Owan Enoh 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 the disqualification of a country”.

The offer was made after Ukpeseraye and the rest of Team Nigeria had arrived in Paris for the games, Mr Enoh said.

“For this track race reallocated to Team Nigeria, a very special equipment (approved specifically for the Olympic track game) is used,” he posted on X, external.

“It’ll take months to have it delivered after ordering and making payment.”

Online commenters remained sceptical, however. Some linked Ukpeseraye’s case to incident earlier on in the games, where Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili discovered last minute that she could not race in the women’s 100m as she had been left off the entry list.

“I would have asked what happened to Favour Ofili who missed her 100m race because whoever was supposed to fill in her name for the competition failed to do so. Does that also take months to import?” one X user wrote.

Others asked why Nigeria was yet to win any medals at this year’s games. It is an outcome even Nigeria’s government seems frustrated by – the information ministry touched on “the disappointing performances of Nigerian athletes” in a recent press release, external.

In this year’s games, Ukpeseraye became the first Nigerian – man or woman – to compete in a cycling event.