Nigeria Olympic medals: every medal since 1964
Nigeria have won 27 Olympic medals, including three golds. This is the complete list, sport by sport and Games by Games.
Last updated: 6 October 2026.
Nigeria has won 27 Olympic medals: 3 gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze, from the country’s first medal in 1964 up to Tokyo 2020. Nigeria came home from Paris 2024 without a medal. This guide lists every medal, picks out the three golds, explains the medals awarded years after the Games, and breaks the total down by sport and by Games. Figures come from Olympedia, Olympics.com and the national records on Wikipedia, which agree on the totals, and are correct as of October 2026.
The short answer
- Total: 27 medals (3 gold, 11 silver, 13 bronze).
- Golds: Chioma Ajunwa (women’s long jump, 1996), the men’s football team (1996) and the men’s 4×400m relay (2000).
- Best Games: Atlanta 1996, with six medals, two of them gold.
- Strongest sport: athletics, with 14 medals (2 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze).
- Most recent medals: Tokyo 2020, a wrestling silver for Blessing Oborududu and a long jump bronze for Ese Brume.
Nigeria’s three Olympic golds
Chioma Ajunwa, long jump, Atlanta 1996
Ajunwa won the women’s long jump with 7.12m on her first jump of the final, and nobody beat it. Olympics.com and her official biography describe her as the first Nigerian to win Olympic gold, and the first Black African woman to take an Olympic field-event title. She had earlier played football for Nigeria at the 1991 Women’s World Cup.
Men’s football, Atlanta 1996
The day after Ajunwa’s win, Nigeria’s under-23 “Dream Team” beat Argentina 3–2 in the final in Athens, Georgia. They had beaten Brazil 4–3 with a golden goal in the semi-final, and they became the first African team to win Olympic football gold.
Men’s 4×400m relay, Sydney 2000
Nigeria’s team (Nduka Awazie, Fidelis Gadzama, Clement Chukwu, Jude Monye, Sunday Bada and Enefiok Udo-Obong) were promoted to gold after the race. The original winners, the United States, were disqualified when Antonio Pettigrew admitted to doping.
Every Nigerian Olympic medal by Games
- Tokyo 1964 (1): bronze, Nojim Maiyegun, boxing, men’s light middleweight. Nigeria’s first Olympic medal.
- Munich 1972 (1): bronze, Isaac Ikhouria, boxing, men’s light heavyweight.
- Los Angeles 1984 (2): silver, Peter Konyegwachie, boxing, featherweight; bronze, men’s 4×400m relay.
- Barcelona 1992 (4): silver, men’s 4×100m relay; silver, David Izonritei, boxing, heavyweight; silver, Richard Igbineghu, boxing, super heavyweight; bronze, women’s 4×100m relay.
- Atlanta 1996 (6): gold, Chioma Ajunwa, long jump; gold, men’s football; silver, women’s 4×400m relay; bronze, Mary Onyali, 200m; bronze, Falilat Ogunkoya, 400m; bronze, Duncan Dokiwari, boxing, super heavyweight.
- Sydney 2000 (3): gold, men’s 4×400m relay; silver, Glory Alozie, 100m hurdles; silver, Ruth Ogbeifo, weightlifting, 75kg.
- Athens 2004 (2): bronze, men’s 4×100m relay; bronze, men’s 4×400m relay.
- Beijing 2008 (5): silver, men’s football; silver, women’s 4×100m relay; silver, Blessing Okagbare, long jump; bronze, Chika Chukwumerije, taekwondo, +80kg; bronze, Mariam Usman, weightlifting, +75kg.
- Rio 2016 (1): bronze, men’s football.
- Tokyo 2020 (2): silver, Blessing Oborududu, wrestling, freestyle 68kg; bronze, Ese Brume, long jump.
Nigeria boycotted Montreal 1976. At several other Games, including London 2012 and Paris 2024, the team came home without a medal.
Multiple medallists and the women’s share
A few Nigerians have won more than one Olympic medal:
- Mary Onyali: bronze in the women’s 4×100m relay in 1992 and bronze in the 200m in 1996.
- Falilat Ogunkoya: bronze in the 400m and silver in the 4×400m relay, both at Atlanta 1996.
- Enefiok Udo-Obong: gold in the 4×400m relay in 2000 and bronze in the same event in 2004.
Women have won 12 of Nigeria’s 27 medals, including Ajunwa’s individual gold. Since Beijing 2008, the only Nigerian medal not won by women was the 2016 men’s football bronze.
Medals by sport
- Athletics: 14 (2 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze)
- Boxing: 6 (3 silver, 3 bronze)
- Football: 3 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
- Weightlifting: 2 (1 silver, 1 bronze)
- Wrestling: 1 silver
- Taekwondo: 1 bronze
Medals awarded after the Games
Several Nigerian medals were upgraded or awarded years later, after other athletes were disqualified for doping. The Sydney 2000 relay gold is the best-known example. Records from Beijing 2008 were also revised, and Okagbare’s long jump and the women’s 4×100m relay are now listed as silver medals. This is why older medal tables, and articles written soon after a Games, can give lower totals.
Some lists also include Nigeria’s taekwondo silver from Barcelona 1992. Taekwondo was only a demonstration sport at those Games, so that medal is not part of the official count.
Paris 2024 and beyond
Paris 2024 was the first Games since London 2012 at which Nigeria failed to win a medal. Tobi Amusan, the 2022 world champion in the 100m hurdles, went out in the semi-finals. D’Tigress became the first African basketball team, men’s or women’s, to reach an Olympic quarter-final.
The next chance is Los Angeles 2028. Athletics has produced more than half of Nigeria’s Olympic medals, so the track and the jumps pit will again be the main focus.
FAQ
How many Olympic medals has Nigeria won?
Twenty-seven: 3 gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze, as of October 2026.
Who won Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medal?
Chioma Ajunwa, in the women’s long jump at Atlanta 1996.
Who won Nigeria’s first Olympic medal?
The boxer Nojim Maiyegun, who won bronze at Tokyo 1964.
Did Nigeria win a medal at Paris 2024?
No. Nigeria did not win a medal in Paris.
What to watch
Nigeria’s qualifying campaigns for LA 2028 begin in earnest in 2027. The World Athletics Championships and African qualifiers will show where the country’s medal chances lie.
Related: Nigeria 1996 Olympic football team: the Atlanta Dream Team; Tobi Amusan world record: the 12.12 run and what came next; African winners at the Grammys, Oscars, Cannes and Emmys: a timeline. More in our Nigerian Entertainment section.
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