After an Olympic year such as the one we experienced, with its highs and lows, we have curated our list of Nigeria’s Top 10 Female Athletes for the year. Here is Part 1, featuring athletes ranked 10-6.
10.OLAYINKA OLAJIDE
The year 2024 marked a significant breakout season for Olayinka Olajide. After some time off the sport, her appearance at the Dynamic Athletics Meet in Lagos in January was her first major competition in two years.
On that day, Olajide competed in and won three races – 60m, 100m and 400m – in a span of six hours, setting Personal Bests (PBs) of 7.50s, 11.37s and 55.35s respectively. She really took flight less than a month later at the MTN CHAMPS/AFN National Trials in Asaba where she delivered a stunning performance, storming to a new PB of 11.19s to win the women’s 100m.
She followed this up with another PB of 23.24s in the 200m, securing her place to compete in both events at the African Games in Ghana. At the African Games, she won Nigeria’s first medal in Athletics, claiming a Bronze in the women’s 100m, which made her the first Nigerian woman in 12 years to achieve this feat. She also copped two other medals: a Silver at 200m and GOLD in the 4x100m, proving to be a vital asset on the Nigerian relay team for the season.
Olajide claimed two Silver medals at the CAA Region II Championships in Ghana where she ran a PB of 23.16s in the 200m. She also secured 2nd place in both the women’s 100m and 200m at the Nigerian Athletics Championships.
Despite a demanding season, she reached the African Championships in Douala, where she made the women’s 100m final and earned a GOLD medal in the 4x100m relay. Her impressive performances led to her selection for the Nigerian team at the Olympic Games in Paris, and she is set to compete on the Texas Tech roster in the NCAA next year.
9. ESTHER ELO JOSEPH
From being an unknown name just a year prior, Esther Elo Joseph ended the 2024 season as Nigeria’s highest-ranked female athlete in the 400m. She kicked off her season with a strong performance at the Dynamic Athletics Meet in Lagos, setting a new PB of 53.01s.
Her swift rise continued with a stunning victory at the MTN CHAMPS/AFN National Trials where she defeated veteran Patience Okon-George and recorded a remarkable 52.00s, a pivotal breakthrough in her career. Joseph carried her impressive form into the African Games, setting new PBs in each round of the 400m.
Her outstanding efforts earned her a Silver medal in the final where she clocked 51.61s in her debut for Nigeria. She also claimed GOLD as the anchor of Nigeria’s 4x400m relay team. At the World Relays in The Bahamas, she contributed to Nigeria’s African record of 3:12.87 in the mixed 4x400m relay, securing Olympic qualification in the process.
On the home front, Joseph proved to be a dominant force, remaining undefeated for the rest of the season. She won every race she entered, including the CAA Region II 400m title in Ghana and her first national 400m title in Benin, a significant improvement from her 6th place finish at the previous National Championships.
Joseph further added to her accolades by securing a Bronze in the 400m and a GOLD in the 4x400m relay at the African Championships in Douala. Although she fell short of the direct Olympic qualification standard, her impressive global ranking granted her a qualification quota for Paris, keeping her Olympic dreams alive.
8. CHIOMA ONYEKWERE
Chioma Onyekwere has for many years, championed the women’s Discus Throw in Nigeria and for Africa at the global level. Hence it was no surprise really when she set a new African Record of 64.96m in 2023.
She kicked off the 2024 season in fine form, winning a Silver medal at the African Games in Ghana and soon improving her Season’s Best (SB) to 61.17m at a follow-up in Michigan.
Onyekwere raked in wins on the American circuit and made a long-deserved Diamond League debut at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene where she placed 7th. She improved her SB to 61.35m less than a month later at the USATF New York Grand Prix.
Competing at the Nigerian Olympic Trials, she beat a field of strong female Discus Throwers to emerge National Champion, regaining the title she last won at the previous Olympic year.
She added a Bronze to her massive medal collection at the African Championships in Douala, and finally made her Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
7. ELLA ONOJUVWEVWO
Ella Onojuvwevwo emerged in 2024 as Nigeria’s best female athlete in the 400m. She in fact became the fastest Nigerian woman in the 400m in over two decades when she ran a Personal Best (PB) of 50.57s in Florida, making her the fastest since National Record holder Falilat Ogunkoya clocked 50.50s in 2001. That performance immediately took her up to 5th on the Nigerian all-time list.
Onojuvwevwo had a slow start to the season, missing out on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships. She, however, began to peak outdoors, showing flashes of her potential at the World Relays in The Bahamas, where she ran a 50.0 split as part of Nigeria’s mixed 4x400m team, securing Olympic qualification.
Just days later, she returned to the U.S. for the SEC Championships, where she delivered an outstanding performance, clocking 50.57s to make the 400m final. With this feat, she became the first Nigerian woman to break the 51-second barrier in the 400m since 2015!
She surpassed the Olympic qualifying standard for the event pegged at 50.95s and took down the LSU School Record that stood for 21 years. From there, Onojuvwevwo consistently ran sub-51 times, ultimately advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she finished 6th overall.
At the African Athletics Championships in Cameroon, she earned two medals: GOLD in the women’s 4x400m and Silver in the mixed 4x400m. She made her Olympic debut in Paris, where she helped set a new National Record of 3:11.99 in the mixed 4x400m. Although she didn’t advance from her 400m heat initially, her standout performance came in the repechage round, where she won convincingly in 50.59s to qualify for the semifinals. She ended her season at the World U20 Championships in Lima where she finished 5th in the 400m.
6. TEMITOPE ADESHINA
Temitope Adeshina took the NCAA by storm! Quiet and unassuming, she had a lot to prove after a short but amazing 2023.
With this in mind, she made a bold statement on her home turf at the Corky Classic in Texas, propelling Nigerian women’s High Jump to new heights with a National Record (NR) of 1.96m. She surpassed the previous National Records (NR) of 1.95m outdoors and 1.93m indoors, both set by Doreen Amata.
This was only her second competition since arriving in the U.S. to further her academic and athletic careers, and just a week earlier, she had started the year with a modest 1.83m, tying for first place with her teammate. This time, however, there was no contest—she blew the competition away, breaking the Texas Tech School Record and immediately rising to the top of the global leaderboard for 2024.
From there, she won her first major title in the U.S., claiming the Big 12 Indoor crown, and progressed to the NCAA Indoor Championships, where she finished 4th. Outdoors, she showcased even more class, winning consecutive meets and securing her second major title at the Big 12 Championships in Texas.
At the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Oregon, Adeshina took the Nigerian High Jump record to new heights, rising over a new PB of 1.97m to claim Bronze. With that, she hit automatic qualification for the Olympic Games and punched her ticket to Paris, fulfilling a life-long dream.
A week later, she won her third national title in Benin a week later, followed by a Silver medal at the African Championships the week after. She then went on to Paris where she made her Olympic debut.
