Nigeria at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Nigeria competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's thirteenth appearance at the Olympics, except the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, because of the African boycott. Nigerian Olympic Committee sent a total of 72 athletes, 24 men and 48 women, to the Games to compete in 10 sports. For the first time in its Olympic history, Nigeria was represented by more female than male athletes. Women's basketball and women's football were the only team-based sports in which Nigeria had its representation at these Games. There was only a single competitor in men's freestyle wrestling.

Nigeria at the 2004 Summer Olympics
IOC code	NGR
NOC	Nigeria Olympic Committee
Website	www.nigeriaolympiccommittee.org
in Athens
Competitors	72 in 10 sports
Flag bearer	Mary Onyali-Omagbemi[1]
Medals Ranked 68th	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 2 Total 2
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Fifteen athletes from the Nigerian team had previously competed in Sydney, including five football players from the women's squad and Olympic silver medalist Enefiok Udo-Obong in the men's 4 × 400 m relay. At age 36, sprinter Mary Onyali-Omagbemi became the first Nigerian athlete to compete in fifth Olympic Games, while table tennis players Segun Toriola and Bose Kaffo followed Onyali's footsteps to fulfill their fourth Olympic bid in Athens. For being the oldest and most experienced athlete of the team, Onyali reprised her role to carry the Nigerian flag in the opening ceremony for the second time since 1996.^[1]

Nigeria left Athens with only two Olympic bronze medals, all from the men's 4 × 100 m relay (led by Deji Aliu) and 4 × 400 m relay teams (led by Udo-Obong).^[2]

Medalists

Further information: 2004 Summer Olympics medal table and List of 2004 Summer Olympics medal winners

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Bronze	Deji Aliu Aaron Egbele Uchenna Emedolu Olusoji Fasuba	Athletics	Men's 4 × 100 m relay	August 28
Bronze	Musa Audu James Godday Enefiok Udo-Obong Saul Weigopwa	Athletics	Men's 4 × 400 m relay	August 28

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Nigerian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard).^[3][4]

Key

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Deji Aliu	100 m	10.39	1 Q	10.26	5	Did not advance
Uchenna Emedolu		10.22	2 Q	10.15	3 Q	10.35	8	Did not advance
Saul Weigopwa	400 m	45.59	3 q	—		45.67	6	Did not advance
Deji Aliu Aaron Egbele Uchenna Emedolu Olusoji Fasuba	4 × 100 m relay	38.27	1 Q	—				38.23
Musa Audu James Godday Enefiok Udo-Obong Saul Weigopwa	4 × 400 m relay	3:01.60	2 Q	—				3:00.90

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Mercy Nku	100 m	11.37	4 q	11.39	5	Did not advance
Endurance Ojokolo		11.36	2 Q	11.35	5	Did not advance
Mary Onyali-Omagbemi	200 m	23.37	6 q	23.75	8	Did not advance
Gloria Kemasuode Mercy Nku Oludamola Osayomi Endurance Ojokolo	4 × 100 m relay	43.00	4 q	—				43.42	7
Christy Ekpukhon Halimat Ismaila Ngozi Cynthia Nwokocha Gloria Amuche Nwosu	4 × 400 m relay	3:30.78	8	—				Did not advance

Basketball

Main article: Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Women's tournament

Main article: Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

Roster

The following is the Nigeria roster in the women's basketball tournament of the 2004 Summer Olympics.^[5]

Nigeria women's national basketball team – 2004 Summer Olympics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. G 4 Umoh Itoro 27 – (1977-02-21)21 February 1977 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Clemson University F 5 Joanne Aluka 25 – (1979-04-26)26 April 1979 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) GD Gafanha da Nazaré G 6 Mobolaji Akiode 22 – (1982-05-12)12 May 1982 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Pully Basket G 7 Juliana Negedu 25 – (1979-07-31)31 July 1979 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Aris Thivas F/C 8 Ugo Oha 22 – (1982-07-18)18 July 1982 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) George Washington University F 9 Aisha Mohammed 18 – (1985-10-21)21 October 1985 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) First Bank G/F 10 Nguveren Iyorhe 23 – (1981-06-09)9 June 1981 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) First Bank F 11 Mfon Udoka 28 – (1976-06-16)16 June 1976 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Houston Comets F 12 Rashidat Sadiq 23 – (1981-01-03)3 January 1981 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) University of Connecticut G 13 Mactabene Amachree 26 – (1978-01-30)30 January 1978 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Istanbul University C 14 Taiwo Rafiu 32 – (1972-06-18)18 June 1972 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Kookmni Bank C 15 Linda Ogugua 26 – (1978-04-12)12 April 1978 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Biola University	Head coach Sam Vincent Assistant coach(es) Scott Nnaji Legend (C) Team captain nat field describes country of last club before the tournament Age as of August 13, 2004

Group play

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	5	5	0	418	313	+105	10	Quarterfinals
2	Russia	5	4	1	389	333	+56	9
3	Brazil	5	3	2	430	361	+69	8
4	Greece (H)	5	2	3	353	392	−39	7
5	Japan	5	1	4	381	485	−104	6
6	Nigeria	5	0	5	335	422	−87	5

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts

14 August 2004 9:00

Australia	85–73	Nigeria
Scoring by quarter: 20–18, 26–14, 16–12, 23–29
Pts: Batkovic, Taylor 11 Rebs: Batkovic 7 Asts: Fallon, Harrower 4		Pts: Udoka 26 Rebs: Amachree, Sadiq 8 Asts: Umoh 2

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 302 Referees: Philippe Leemann (France) Valdu Suurkask (Estonia)

---

16 August 2004 11:15

Nigeria	73–79	Japan
Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 24–23, 16–20, 11–14
Pts: Udoka 19 Rebs: Udoka 16 Asts: Four players 1		Pts: Yano 21 Rebs: Kusuda, Yano 6 Asts: Kusuda, Hamaguchi 4

Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens Attendance: 400 Referees: Elizabeth Sisk (United States) Dallas Pickering (New Zealand)

---

18 August 2004 16:45

Greece	83–68	Nigeria
Scoring by quarter: 30–15, 15–14, 20–15, 18–24
Pts: Kostaki 25 Rebs: Maltsi, Saregkou 8 Asts: Kostaki 4		Pts: Udoka 28 Rebs: Udoka 18 Asts: Amachree, Iyorhe 1

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 2,300 Referees: Scott Butler (Australia) Nancy Ethier (Canada)

---

20 August 2004 22:15

Nigeria	63–82	Brazil
Scoring by quarter: 19–33, 15–14, 12–11, 17–24
Pts: Udoka 17 Rebs: Udoka 7 Asts: Amachree, Udoka 2		Pts: Castro Marques 26 Rebs: de Souza 8 Asts: Castro Marques 6

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Mike Homsy (Canada) Song Yangping (China)

---

22 August 2004 11:15

Nigeria	58–93	Russia
Scoring by quarter: 14–23, 17–20, 15–21, 12–29
Pts: Udoka 19 Rebs: Mohammed 8 Asts: Akiode, Umoh 3		Pts: Rakhmatulina 15 Rebs: Baranova 8 Asts: Karpova, Rakhmatulina 3

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 382 Referees: Dallas Pickering (New Zealand) Shoko Suguro (Japan)

Classification match (11th–12th place)

24 August 2004 9:00

11th place

Nigeria	68–64	South Korea
Scoring by quarter: 16–16, 13–16, 21–12, 18–20
Pts: Udoka 21 Rebs: Mohammed 13 Asts: Umoh 2		Pts: Kim Y. 19 Rebs: Lee M. 12 Asts: Lee M. 7

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 155 Referees: Philippe Leemann (Switzerland) Chantal Julien (France)

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Nigeria sent seven boxers to Athens. Five lost their first matches, while the other two made it to the quarterfinals (one with two wins, the other with a bye and a win) before being defeated.

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Effiong Okon	Light flyweight	Pinto (ITA) L RSC	Did not advance
Nestor Bolum	Bantamweight	Ngnitedem (GAB) W 23–17	Prasad (IND) W RSC	Petchkoom (THA) L 14–29	Did not advance
Muideen Ganiyu	Featherweight	Bye	Ikgopoleng (BOT) W 25–16	Kim S-G (PRK) L 11–32	Did not advance
Ahmed Sadiq	Lightweight	Kindelán (CUB) L RSC	Did not advance
Isaac Ekpo	Light heavyweight	Haydarov (UZB) L 11–21	Did not advance
Emmanuel Izonritei	Heavyweight	—	Al Shami (SYR) L 17–30	Did not advance
Gbenga Oluokun	Super heavyweight	—	Cammarelle (ITA) L 13–29	Did not advance

Football

Main article: Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Women's tournament

Main article: Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

The Nigerian team qualified for the Olympics after defeating Ghana on penalties and edging South Africa in a two-leg playoff.^[6]

Roster

Head coach: Mabo Ismaila

Nigeria named a squad of 18 players and 4 alternates for the tournament.^[7]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Precious Dede	(1980-01-18)18 January 1980 (aged 24)	12	0	Delta Queens
2	3MF	Efioanwan Ekpo	(1984-01-25)25 January 1984 (aged 20)	20	3	Pelican Stars
3	2DF	Felicia Eze	(1974-09-27)27 September 1974 (aged 29)			Delta Queens
4	4FW	Perpetua Nkwocha	(1976-01-03)3 January 1976 (aged 28)	30	10	Pelican Stars
5	3MF	Ajuma Ameh	(1984-12-01)1 December 1984 (aged 19)			Pelican Stars
6	2DF	Faith Ikidi	(1987-02-28)28 February 1987 (aged 17)	2	0	Bayelsa Queens
7	4FW	Stella Mbachu	(1978-04-16)16 April 1978 (aged 26)	55	25	Tianjin Teda F.C.
8	3MF	Rita Nwadike (captain)	(1974-11-03)3 November 1974 (aged 29)			Rivers Angels
9	4FW	Blessing Igbojionu	(1982-09-26)26 September 1982 (aged 21)			Pelican Stars
10	4FW	Mercy Akide	(1975-08-26)26 August 1975 (aged 28)	78	0	Hampton Roads Piranhas
11	4FW	Vera Okolo	(1985-01-05)5 January 1985 (aged 19)	4	14	Delta Queens
12	2DF	Celestina Onyeka	(1984-07-15)15 July 1984 (aged 20)			Pelican Stars
13	2DF	Yinka Kudaisi	(1975-08-25)25 August 1975 (aged 28)			Pelican Stars
14	2DF	Akudo Sabi	(1986-11-17)17 November 1986 (aged 17)	14	6	Bayelsa Queens
15	3MF	Maureen Mmadu	(1975-05-07)7 May 1975 (aged 29)	68	0	Amazon Grimstad
16	4FW	Nkechi Egbe	(1978-02-05)5 February 1978 (aged 26)	35	15	Delta Queens
17	2DF	Chima Nwosu	(1986-05-12)12 May 1986 (aged 18)			Inneh Queens
18	1GK	Ogechi Onyinanya	(1985-05-26)26 May 1985 (aged 19)			Pelican Stars

Group play

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sweden	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3	Qualified for the quarterfinals
2	Nigeria	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3
3	Japan	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Japan	0 – 1	Nigeria
	Report	Okolo 55'

August 14, 2004
18:00

Karaiskaki Stadium, Piraeus

Attendance: 14.126

Referee: Ferreira-James (Guyana)

---

Sweden	2 – 1	Nigeria
Marklund 68' Moström 73'	Report	Akide 25'

August 17, 2004
18:00

Panthessaliko Stadium, Volos

Attendance: 21.597

Referee: de Oliveira (Brazil)

Quarterfinals

Germany	2 – 1	Nigeria
Jones 76' Pohlers 81'	Report	Akide 49'

August 20, 2004
18:00

Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, Patras

Attendance: 2.531

Referee: D'Coth (India)

Judo

Main article: Judo at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Two Nigerian judoka (one man and one woman) qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Chukwuemeka Onyemachi	Men's +100 kg	Hernandes (BRA) L 0000–0100	Did not advance
Catherine Ekuta	Women's −57 kg	Bye	Göldi (SUI) L 0000–1010	Did not advance

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Eric Williams	100 m breaststroke	1:07.69	53	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Lenient Obia	100 m backstroke	1:09.65	39	Did not advance

Table tennis

Main article: Table tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Eight Nigerian table tennis players qualified for the following events.

Men

Athlete	Event	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Monday Merotohun	Singles	Babunugu (COD) W 4–0	Persson (SWE) L 1–4	Did not advance
Segun Toriola		Tabachnik (ARG) W 4–1	Chila (FRA) L 2–4	Did not advance
Peter Akinlabi Kazeem Nosiru	Doubles	—	Papic / Rodríguez (CHI) W 4–1	Maze / Tugwell (DEN) L 2–4	Did not advance
Monday Merotohun Segun Toriola		—	Hazinski / Lupulesku (USA) L 0–4	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Cecilia Offiong	Singles	Silva (BRA) W 4–1	Kim Y-M (PRK) L 0–4	Did not advance
Olufunke Oshonaike		Rodriguez (CHI) W 4–0	Tóth (HUN) L 2–4	Did not advance
Offiong Edem Cecilia Offiong	Doubles	Bye		Fadeyeva / Melnik (RUS) L 3–4	Did not advance
Bose Kaffo Olufunke Oshonaike		Bye		Stefanova / Tan Wl (ITA) L 3–4	Did not advance

Taekwondo

Main article: Taekwondo at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Three Nigerian taekwondo jin qualified for the following events.

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Jacob Obiorah	Men's −80 kg	Hamdouni (TUN) L 11–16	Did not advance
Chika Chukwumerije	Men's +80 kg	Gentil (FRA) L 0–2	Did not advance
Princess Dudu	Women's +67 kg	Dawani (JOR) L 9–12	Did not advance

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Two Nigerian weightlifters qualified for the following events:

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Blessed Udoh	Women's −48 kg	75	=12	105	=6	180	7
Franca Gbodo	Women's −58 kg	95	=6	117.5	=10	212.5	10

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Key:

• VT - Victory by Fall.
• PP - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points.
• PO - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points.

Men's freestyle

Athlete	Event	Elimination Pool			Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Fred Jessey	−66 kg	Baek J-K (KOR) L 1–3 PP	Ikematsu (JPN) L 0–5 VT	3	Did not advance			20

See also

• Nigeria at the 2004 Summer Paralympics