"I Won't Represent Nigeria Again" —Nigeria's Only Weightlifter At The Rio Olympics Declares |PoliFocus

Mariam Usman, a Commonwealth medalist, said she has lost the urge to represent Nigeria at international events.

She was the only weightlifterthat represented Nigeria in Rio, where she competed in the +75 category and amassed 265 kg.


She finished 8th in her group. Her words: “It is painful to come to the Olympics and see people who are your contemporaries perform better than you; not because you lack the ability but because you were not prepared like them.

For me, it is not just about jumping unto the plane every four years to go to the Olympics. Every athlete you see here wants to step on the podium.

If you can’t aim to climb up there, you have no business coming to the Olympics. I can only consider going to another Olympics if things change for the better.

But if the status quo is maintained, I don’t think I will go to another Olympics again. Olympic gold medal doesn’t come cheap.

It is painful that one has to suffer and when competition comes they expect you to win a medal with your blood.

The people you have to compete with had everything they needed: training grants, competitions and are exposed to the most modern equipment.

I had nothing. You don’t expect such people who have invested so much to lose to one who doesn’teven train adequately.

I feel 2012 was better. I had better training and my result was better. This time nothing was done to better one’s performance.”

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