Nigeria’s sole middle distance runner at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Edose Ibadin, hopes more Nigerians will begin to run the 800m event at major competitions after he ended the country’s 36-year absence at the sports fiesta, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Ibadin made his debut at the Olympics at the age of 31, having previously represented the country at the African Games (2019 and 2023) and World Championships (2019).
Ado Maude made history as the first Nigerian to run in the 800m event at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Like Maude, Ibadin didn’t make it to the semi-finals, but he expressed a deep sense of confidence in the growth of the event in subsequent major tournaments.
“I actually did some research, and I thought I was going to be the first one, but I saw back in 1988 that there was another guy (Maude), the former national record holder, who was able to compete at the Games,” Ibadin told Making of Champions.
“So, I’m glad to be able to compete here as well and clear up a 36-year-old drought. I don’t take that lightly, being able to represent Nigeria in this event. It gives me hope for the future, and hopefully, more Nigerians will take on the 800m, and hopefully, they can make more Olympics and more World Championships.
“That’s the main reason I’ve decided to run for Nigeria, just because of how under-represented it is in 800m, and I was also told that I could possibly make a difference in the middle distance running for Nigeria.”
Ibadin is currently the national record holder in the 800 m with a time of 1:44.65, which he ran at the Thomas O. Berg Track in Washington, DC, USA, in July 2023.
He won bronze with the men’s 4x400m team at the 2019 African Games in Morocco and was also part of the men’s 4x400m team in round one at the 2023 edition held earlier this year in Ghana.
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