Bobsleigh: Nigeria’s Simidele Adeagbo becomes first African athlete to compete in World Championships
Nigerian Olympian Simidele Adeagbo has become the first African athlete to compete in bobsleigh at the IBSF World Championships in the 100-year history of the sport.
The 42-year-old skeleton racer broke the record over the weekend at the 2024 BMW IBSF World Championship in Winterburg, Germany, where she finished top 20 in her World Championships debut.
By doing so, she also inked Nigeria’s name in history books as the first African nation to be represented in bobsleigh at a World Championships.
Bobsleigh is not a dominant sport in Africa yet as it is a team winter sport where timed runs are made in a gravity-powered sledge down small, winding, banked, icy tracks.
But Adeagbo, born in Canada to Nigerian parents, has been doing so well to elevate Nigeria’s representation in the sport.
In 2018, she finished 20th at the Winter Olympics in South Korea as she became Nigeria and Africa’s first female skeleton athlete.
Also, in 2022, Adeagbo became the first African athlete to win an international sledge race after she clinched the women’s mono bob event at the EuroCup.
Reacting to her latest feat on the international stage, she posted on her X account: “History made. Another barrier broken. @SimiSleighsFDN. #NaijaNoDeyCarryLast. Thanks so much for all your love and support.”
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