Nigeria’s Paralympic Journey: From 3 medals in 1992 to accumulating 87 medals by 2024
Since its debut at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, Nigeria has become one of the most successful African nations in the Paralympic Games, winning an average of ten medals per edition.
Nigeria’s Paralympic team has secured medals in every participation since their debut.
Kenya and South Africa dominate Africa's Olympic success, with 46% of the continent's total medals in Summer Games history.
Kenya tops the list with 124 medals, while South Africa follows with 95. Ethiopia, Egypt, and Nigeria trail with fewer wins.
Team Nigeria made history with its largest Olympic squad ever at Paris 2024, featuring 88 athletes.
Despite the high participation, the team left without a medal, sparking discussions on the effectiveness of sports programmes and athlete support.
Peak performance was in 1996, but recent Games show a trend towards greater participation
Nigeria's first Olympics appearance was at Helsinki 1952 but it wasn't until its fourth appearance at Tokyo 1964 that it won its first medal — a bronze. The country’s best medals haul (6) was at Atlanta 1996, where it won 2 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze.
Since Nigeria's first attendance at the Olympic games, the country has won a total of 27 medals; 3 gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze medals. Following the just concluded Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, we look at the African countries by Olympic medals won in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic games.
