Team Nigeria’s medal hopeful, Blessing Okagbare has joined the rest of Team Nigerian athletes as her presence alone has brought sparks in the sprawling Olympic Village.
Blessing was seen in the Village with other athletes in her traditional toothpaste smile, looking trim and refreshingly beautiful as she hopes to carry the hopes of many Nigerians to make a podium appearance.
Okagbare would be gunning for medals in her traditional 100m, 200m, Long Jump and 4 x 100m women relay.
The athletics event of Rio 2016 begins on Saturday. The man that would be the cynosure of all eyes Usain Bolt addressed the media yesterday and took to the dance floor dancing Brazilian Samba alongside Brazilian babes who gave him a very warm welcome at the venue. Bolt is here to chase another triple as he did in London 2012.
Team Nigeria athletes get Olympic pins
NigeriaN athletes and officials have joined in the barter business of Olympic Pins. The Olympic Pins are cherished in some instances more than money. Athletes use it in exchange with their opponents before matches, while officials, Journalists use it for friendship.
In past Games, athletes and officials had complained bitterly of not being considered when the Pins are shared and in some instances they are not produced at all. President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, Habu Gumel who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee came prepared and had designated Samuel Fagunwa to ensure that all athletes and officials have their Pins.
So many athletes were overwhelmed when they were called to sign up for the Pins. ‘’It has never happened before. Sometimes, we feel ashamed when other athletes offer you Pins and you have nothing to give in return. This is a great one,’’ one of the prominent athletics figures said after signing.
Athletes stroll through Olympic Park with them jangling in their pockets. Volunteers affix them to lanyards and swap them with journalists.
They’re Olympic pins, and here in Rio, they’re the focus of a thriving barter economy. “It’s the currency of the Games,” says Dan Baker, the senior pin-head among a cadre of obsessive collectors displaying their wares at the Olympic Park. “It’s more important than money. In fact, you can get in some places with a pin where you probably couldn’t get in if you handed them a $20 bill.”