Nigerian athlete Sam Ikpefan has etched his name in history by becoming the inaugural competitor from his country to participate in two separate Winter Olympic Games.
At 33 years old, he secured a 65th-place finish in the men’s cross-country sprint classic qualification event held on Tuesday.
As the only athlete representing Nigeria at the ongoing Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy, Ikpefan clocked a time of 3:33.31 during the race.
This result fell short of advancing him to the quarter-finals, a stage limited to the leading 30 performers.
Looking ahead, Ikpefan is set to take part in the men’s 10-km freestyle cross-country skiing competition scheduled for Friday.
This appearance marks his back-to-back involvement in the Olympics, following his debut for Nigeria at the 2022 edition in Beijing.
During the Beijing Games, he ended up in 73rd position in the men’s sprint free event and had to pull out of the 15km classic race after testing positive for COVID-19.
Nigeria first entered the Winter Olympics arena back in 2018.
Ikpefan’s background traces to the French Alps, where he was born to a local mother and a father hailing from Edo State in Nigeria.
While he initially skied for France during his junior years, he switched allegiances to Nigeria in 2018 upon acquiring the nation’s passport, going on to race in the World Cup and World Championships.
To date, Nigeria remains without a single medal from any Winter Olympic competition.
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