Nigerian cyclist Ese Lovina Ukpeseraye competed in the Paris Olympics using a borrowed bicycle from the German team due to a last-minute entry.
Ese lovina Ukpeseraye, a Nigerian cyclist, represented Nigeria in the ongoing Olympics in Paris with a borrowed bicycle on Thursday.
Ukpesereraye explained that her participation in the keirin and sprint, a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint to outcompete one another, was impromptu as she was not listed for the game originally.
The German track team at the event had to lend her a bicycle to participate at the competition.
“Due to the short notice of me competing at the keirin & Sprint, #teamNigeria, I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks. In d spirit of sportsmanship, the German team @bunddeutscherradfahr came to my rescue by offering me a bicycle.Thank you,” Ukpeseraye wrote on X on Thursday.
#Paris2024@Paris2024
Due to the short notice of me competing at the keirin & Sprint, #teamNigeria I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks. In d spirit of sportsmanship the German team @bunddeutscherradfahr came to my rescue by offering me a bicycle.
Thank you???????????? https://t.co/OZf8tPZ3gS pic.twitter.com/AyrtQqrCe7— Ese lovina Ukpeseraye (@Ese_Ukpeseraye) August 8, 2024
John Owan Enoh, Nigeria’s minister for sport development, subsequently explained that Ukperesaye needed to borrow a bike from the German team because Nigeria replaced another team that was disqualified at the Olympics, leaving the Athletics Federation of Nigeria with inadequate time to purchase the bike.
Enoh explained that Nigeria had only formerly qualified for just one cycling event “until two weeks ago” when the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) informed them that Nigeria would be taking the place of another nation in the cycling keirin competition.
“It’ll take months to have it delivered after ordering and making payment,” he explained. “To therefore get Ese to compete, the Federation through Ese’s Club in Europe and working with a German owned Company, got a ‘Track Bike’ for our cycler Ese.”
She is not the first Nigerian athlete to encounter last-minute hitches at the ongoing games.
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