Nigeria secured a total of five medals – two GOLD, one Silver and two Bronze medals, in Track and Field at the 2002 edition of the Commonwealth Games held in Manchester, England.
When compared to the medal haul from Nigeria’s previous participation at the Games, this may not come across as an impressive feat.
However, what makes the 2002 edition of the Games unique was the feat achieved by Adekunle Adesoji in the Men’s 100m EAD (Elite Athletes with a Disability) category where he stormed to victory in a World Record (WR) of 10.76s to finish ahead of Malaysia’s Hisham Khaironi (11.53s) and South Africa’s Rory Field (11.96s).
Nigeria’s second GOLD medal at this edition of the Games was secured by Vivian Chukwuemeka who won the women’s Shot put with a throw of 17.53m, while Valerie Adams settled for Silver with a mark of 17.45m.
Nigeria’s only Silver medal at Manchester was won by Uchenna Emedolu who finished behind Kim Collins (9.98s) in the men’s 100m, clocking a time of 10.11s.
Angela Atede claimed a Bronze medal in the 100m Hurdles after returning a time of 12.98s, while the quartet of Olabisi Afolabi, Kudirat Akhigbe, Hajarat Yusuf and Doris Jacob won another Bronze medal in the women’s 4x400m relay, posting a time of 3:29.16.
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.
