Three women are on a quest to make history and not just for themselves, but for their country. Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga are working hard on behalf of Nigeria to qualify for the 2018 Winter Games. This is a big task for the ladies. If they reach their goal of qualifying, they will become the first Nigerian team (male or female) to compete in the bobsled portion of the Winter Olympics. Their goals don't stop there. They also hope to create a bobsled federation for Nigeria and the entire continent of Africa.
These ladies are superwomen in their own right. Outside of reaching for this goal they lead pretty hectic lives. Adigun and Onwumere are both doctoral students at the University of Houston and Akuoma Omeoga is a healthcare recruiter. The woman leading this mission is Adigun, who isn't a newbie to the Olympic scene. She's a former Team USA bobsled break and she ran for Nigeria's track and field team in the 2012 Olympics. This time the race she's running is a little different and brings together everything she represents. In an interview with Okay Africa, she discusses what pushed her to go after this goal."So, I was like, “Wow, that would be something that’d be very positive and very good for the country itself. Then I realized that the entire continent had never been represented at the Olympic games." She told her self, “Seun, you have to do this. You have to help create this team so that not only will it help the sport of bobsled and the IBSF, the country of Nigeria, the continent of Africa, women in sports, pretty much everything that you represent!”
Onwumere and Omeoga believed in Adigun's vision and agreed to join her on the quest. Despite none of the women having prior experience in bobsledding, they are still determined to make it happen so they can represent their country. Their motto “A little faith, support and willingness to persevere,"helps keep them focused and inspired to take on the challenges that lie ahead. To help fund this mission, these ladies created a GoFundMe to help raise $150,000 to cover the costs of a bobsled, tools, sled runners, shipping gear and more.
This trio of #BlackGirlMagic pioneer most definitely has our support and we can't wait to see them in the 2018 Winter Games. They will make it.
