THE NATION
1. Chioma Ajunwa
Ajunwa competed in track and field events and focused on the 100m, 200m and long jump. At Atlanta 1996, Ajunwa became the first woman from West Africa to win an Olympic gold medal.
However Ajunwa failed a drug test in 1992, which resulted in a four-year athletics ban and kept her away from participating in any athletics tournament.
2. Mary Onyali
Mary Onyali appeared five times in Olympic tournaments from 1988 – 2004.
At the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, she earned bronze medals in the 200m and the 4⨉100m relay, respectively.
In 1996, Mary was banned from athletics for reportedly taking ephedrine which she has denied to date.
3. Cecilia Francis
Cecilia Francis excels in the track and field event, participating in 100m, 200m, and 4 x 100-meter relay.
At the 2015 All-Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo, Cecilia won gold in the 4 x 100-meter relay alongside Blessing Okagbare, Lawretta Ozoh, and Ngozi Onwumere.
As a 16-year-old at the 2013 African Youth Athletics Championships, Francis tested positive for the anabolic steroid methenolone.
She was barred from participating in sports for a year after helping the police with their inquiry.
Her coach Abass Rauf received a lifetime ban from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, while Lee Evans received a four-year suspension.
4. Blessing Okagbare
Former Nigerian track and field athlete Blessing Okagbare is a specialist in the long jump and sprints.
The women’s 100-meter Commonwealth Games record belongs to Okagbare, who ran it in 10.85 seconds.
She won medals in the long jump at the Olympic and World Championships, and she also won a world medal in the 200 meters.
On July 31, 2021, during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Okagbare failed a drug test and was thus suspended.
She was given a 10-year athletics ban which started on 30 July 2021 as a result of many violations of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Code.
