The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games which was held in Vancouver, Canada, was only Nigeria’s second outing at the Games, and the country won a total of six medals in Athletics
Nigeria’s Emmanuel Ifeajuna turned out to be one of the stars of the competition as he became the first black African to win a GOLD medal at an international sporting event when he won the men’s High jump with a then Games Record of 2.03m, even though it was reported that he competed wearing only his left shoe.
Here is a video which captures Ifeajuna’s jump and a brief history of his feat at the 1954 edition of the Games:
Uganda’s Patrick Etolu won Silver with a then National Record of 1.99m, while another Nigerian, Nafiu Osagie won Bronze with 1.99m.
Karim Olowu and Sylvanus Williams won Silver and Bronze respectively in the men’s Long jump with leaps of 7.39m and 7.22m.
Peter Esiri also claimed a Silver medal in the men’s Triple Jump with a mark of 15.25m, while the quartet of Abdul Karim Amu, Edward Ajado, Karim Olowu and Muslim Arogundade won Silver in the 4×110 yards relay as it was known then. They returned a time of 41.3s.
As the countdown to this year’s Commonwealth Games begins, join us for a daily highlight of some of Nigeria’s best moments at the Games, which will come to a climax on the opening day of Gold Coast 2018.
