It is a long story that began in 1947 and lasted for almost five decades before Chioma Ajunwa jumped to Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medal in Atlanta.
Karim Ayinla Babalola [KAB] Olowu emerged national Long Jump champion at the First All Nigeria Athletics Championships held at the Police Ground, Obalende, Lagos.
Olowu wore the colours of the Lagos Amateur Athletics Club and his jump of 22 feet 8 inches was good enough for the first position. He retained the medal in the next edition in 1948 and made it a third time consecutively, in 1949. A fourth gold did not come the following year when Peter Esiri mounted the podium. However, Olowu, also known as ‘Capee’, came back strong in 1951 to claim his fourth Long Jump gold.
The first three years of the All Nigeria championships belonged to the trio of Olowu, Joseph Adeola and Joe Majekodunmi. While, Adeola, better known as the ‘Flying Policeman’, was the fastest man, Majekodunmi held on to the High Jump gold.
Olowu was also a good sprinter who with Majekodunmi and the duo of B.A.A Guobadia and J.S Olotu, represented Nigeria at our first Commonwealth Games, then called the Empire Games, at Auckland, New Zealand in 1950. The quartet entered for the Long Jump, 100 metres, High Jump and Pole Vault events.
In 1952, Nigeria was allowed to compete in the Olympic Games for the first time. Olowu was there in Helsinki although he made no impact. It was at the Melbourne ’56 Games that he qualified for the Long Jump final. His effort of 24 feet 1 3/4 inches placed him in the fifth position. Gregory Bell of the United States picked the gold medal with a jump of 25 feet 8 1/4 inches.
That was not the best for the Nigerian and the other competitors. According to Olympic Games chronicler, David Wallechinsky : ” A short, loose runway and a strong fluctuating wind caused all entrants to perform well below their normal standards.” John Bennett of the US and Finland’s Jorma Valkama went away with silver and bronze respectively.
Olowu was not the first Nigerian Olympian. That honour belongs to Prince Adegboyega Folaranmi Adedoyin, an Ijebu Remo Prince who represented Great Britain at the London ‘ 48 Games. He was studying Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast. What a coincidence that he finished fifth and in the Long Jump event.
The Vancouver ’54 British Empire and Commonwealth Games turned out good for Olowu. He won two silver medals thereby becoming the first Nigerian to win two Commonwealth gold medals in the same competition. A Long Jump silver and another silver in the 4×100 relay with the trio of Musliu Aremu Arogundade, Abdulkareem Ohimai Amu and Edward Ajado was remarkable.
However, the hero of the Vancouver Games was High Jumper, Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna. The former Dennis Grammar School, Onitsha student scaled 6 feet 9 inches to win the gold medal. That became Nigeria’s first ever Commonwealth gold. Beyond that, Ifeajuna was also the first black African to win a Commonwealth gold medal.
Nigeria left Canada with one gold, three silver and two bronze medals. Team captain, Sylvanus Williams, got the Long Jump bronze. Peter Esiri bagged silver in the Triple Jump and boxer, Abubakar Idi Garba, punched his way to a bronze in the bantamweight division.
The Long Jump tradition which began with Olowu eventually gave Nigeria and indeed Africa, a first Olympic gold through Ajunwa at Atlanta ’96. That same tradition threw up Blessing Okagbare who left Beijing 2008 with a Long Jump bronze medal. Wariboko West was not so lucky at Tokyo ’64 when he missed the bronze medal after finishing fourth.
It is also in Long Jump that Modupe Oshikoya the first Nigerian woman to win Commonwealth gold. It happened during the Christchurch, New Zealand Games in 1974. She was unable to get close to the medals podium at the Munich ’72 Olympics. Today, Ese Brume, is recognized as a Commonwealth Games Long Jump golden girl.
The Long Jump story will be incomplete without mentioning Charlton Ehizuelen. That is the man that broke Jesse Owens’ 39 -year-old Long Jump record in Illinois, 1974. He had the best jump globally in 1975 and 1976. Unfortunately, the chance to hit headlines eluded him in 1976 when Nigeria boycotted the Montreal Games.
Ehizuelen won a bronze medal in the Long Jump at the first IAAF World Cup in Dusseldorf, Germany. He represented Africa in that 1977 opener. Three years later, the star defeated 1976 Olympic Games champion, Archie Robinson, in the Long Beach, California International Track Meet, running for Maccabi Track Club.
More Long Jumpers came after Olowu. Paul Emordi was world Class. Yusuf Ali ruled the Commonwealth and set a long lasting record. Ayodele Aladefa was African champion. We also had Eddie Akika, Moses Akporowho and Joshua Kio. The women brought Felicia Ochonogor, Bella Belgam, Comfort Ige, Linda Omagbemi, Carol Nwajei, Beatrice Utondu, Felicia Amajali and Stella Emefesi.
Babs Olowu is also remembered as the first Nigerian to bear the Olympic Torch. This was attained at Barcelona ’92. At the Lagos ’73 Second All Africa Games, he was the Chief Starter. Capee officiated at the Kingston ’66 Commonwealth Games and was appointed Team Manager of the Nigerian contingent to the botched Montreal Games.
Father of Nigerian Long Jump, Olowu, was born on June 7, 1924 and died on August 14, 2019. He was first grandson of the famous Madam Tinubu of Lagos. KAB was honoured with OON in 2006 and at 95, must have gone down in sports records as one of the oldest Olympians.
