Nigerian bobsledder aims for Africa’s first Winter Games medal

Nigerian bobsledder Simidele Adeagbo is preparing for the 2026 Winter Olympics with a clear mission – to become Africa’s first medalist in the history of the Games.

With three years to go before the event, hosted by Italy in Milan-Cortina, the 41-year-old is hoping to build on the already groundbreaking debut at PyeongChang 2018.

Adeagbo was the first African and first black woman to compete in skeleton at the Winter Olympics – a sport she had taken up just a hundred days earlier.

“At my last Olympics in 2018, I was there to open the door and break down barriers to participation,” she told BBC Sport Africa.

“I’ve now transitioned to a mindset where I know I can compete with the best in the world and that’s exactly what I intend to do.

“I want to fight for a medal (in Italy). I intend to be at the forefront of the competition, do my best and see what’s possible.”

Adeagbo was born in Canada to Nigerian parents before the family returned to their homeland.

She spent the first six years of her life in Ibadan, South West Nigeria, before moving to the United States, where she has remained ever since, including while in college where she developed her passion for sport.

Volleyball, basketball and field hockey were her sports of choice growing up, but track and field was her forte – she narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in the long jump.

Skeleton and bobsled followed much later, but after her historic Olympic debut where she placed 20th in South Korea, Adeagbo switched sports again.

To qualify for Beijing 2022, skeleton was traded to the new women’s discipline, monobob – the solo bobsleigh event.

She missed out on automatic qualification by just one spot after qualifying criteria changed, a situation she attributed to gender inequality.

In fact, she remains embroiled in what she hopes will be a “groundbreaking” case for equality within the Olympic movement after taking her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

By winning the title in the Monobob World Series in Germany in early 2022, the Nigerian bobsledder became the first African to win an international bobsled race.

“My decision to represent Nigeria and not Canada or the US is the pride that comes with it,” Adeagbo said.

“I know that every time I go somewhere, I’m making a story that matters to me because it means it’s going to matter to someone else.” You’ll know it’s possible because I did it.”

Robert Hinton has been coaching Adeagbo for over a year, but the former British bobsledder and army officer has been involved in winter sports for well over 30 years.

He has no doubt that the Nigerian has a medal prospect at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“I think she has an incredibly good chance of doing very well,” he told BBC Sport Africa.

“If she finishes consistently in the top 10 or top 15 in races, which she will do by the end of this international racing training cycle, then she has a chance at a medal.

“She’s improving every time, I think she will be an effective Olympian in monobob without a doubt in 2026.

“That is our goal. We don’t just want to be competitors. We want to do our best.”