The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have awarded Nigeria the Silver medal in the women’s 4x100m relay from the Beijing 2008 Games.
Nigeria originally won Bronze in the race eight years ago, but has now been upgraded to Silver after Russia was stripped of GOLD as one of their athletes, Yulia Chermoshanskaya tested positive to drugs.
The Nigerian quartet of Franca Idoko, Halimat Ismaila, Gloria Kemasuode and Oludamola Osayomi, ran a time of 43.04s in that race to finish 3rd, but with Belgium now going to get GOLD, the Nigeria girls takes their former 2nd position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOOEY1fx90E
This is the second time Nigeria will retroactively get an upgraded medal in the relays at the Olympics, with the first being from the Sydney 2000 Games, when the men’s 4x400m team of: Clement Chukwu, Jude Monye, Sunday Bada & Enefiok Udo-Obong were awarded GOLD after a member of the USA team that won then was found to have doped.
Perhaps this could be a good omen for Nigeria at the Rio Olympics, especially considering that a member of the present women’s 4x100m relay team that qualified for the final on Friday, Agnes Osazuwa was also a member of the 2008 team, having competed in the heats.
