Enoh Blames Olympic Medal Drought on Lack of Preparation Time

• Minister John Enoh apologized for Team Nigeria’s failure to secure a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, citing insufficient preparation time
• Enoh revealed that when he assumed office in August 2023, he had to execute four major international competitions in a few months

Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, has attributed Team Nigeria’s failure to secure a medal at the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics to inadequate preparation time. Enoh made this statement on his verified X handle while apologising to Nigerians.

“When I assumed office as the Minister of Sports Development in August 2023, I was confronted with the task of executing four international competitions—namely the AFCON, the African Games, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games—in a matter of a few months,” Enoh explained. “I was also reminded that the Olympic Games is the world’s supreme sports competition, and countries require at least four years to prepare for it. I held extensive discussions with the Ministry’s management staff and learned that preparations for the Olympics, which was less than a year away, had not started.”

He also revealed that the federations focused more on qualifying for the Olympics than preparing for it, and his attempts to question athlete selection were met with strong resistance.

“After the African Games, subsequent meetings were limited to the Federations with bright chances of qualifying for the Olympics. Medals projections were made by all the Federations, although their athletes were still trying to qualify; which lasted until about June 2024. The concerned Federations prioritized qualification over preparations for the Games. This seems to have always been the case. This has to change,” Enoh stated.

Enoh emphasized that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ensured that funding was not an issue, with all competition requirements, athlete allowances, and training grants provided on time.

“Given all these efforts, the underwhelming performance of our team is puzzling. We owe Nigerians an explanation,” he added.