10 Things You Didn’t Know About Chioma Ajunwa

The former Nigerian athlete and Member of the Order of Niger, Chioma Ajunwa was born as Chioma Ajunwa-Opara on 25 December 1970 in Umuihiokwu, Nigeria. She is the last of nine children. She competed at the African Championships in 1989 and the All Africa Games in 1991 where she won gold medals in the long jump before being banned from the sport for four years after failing a drug test in 1992. She is the Chairperson of the Women’s Development Committee of Imo State Football Association and also a Member of Committee on the Revival of the Nigeria Academicals Sports Competitions. The 45-years-old long jump athletic is a name to be reckon with in the sport industry.

Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about the Nigerian sportswoman, Chioma Ajunwa:

1. Chioma Ajunwa was born as Chioma Ajunwa-Opara on 25 December 1970 in Umuihiokwu, Nigeria. She is the last of nine children. Member of the Order of Niger (MON)

2. Her father died while she was still young, leaving his wife to solely support a large family.

3. She had a keen interest in athletics participant during her school years and gained admission into university but was unable to register due to her mother’s inability to pay the fees.

4. She later decided to be a motor mechanic in order to fund her varsity fees.

5. She originally played football for the Nigerian women’s team and was a member of The Falcons during the Women’s World Cup in 1991, but as she was constantly benched her skill was seldom used.

6. She competed at the African Championships in 1989 and the All Africa Games in 1991 where she won gold medals in the long jump before being banned from the sport for four years after failing a drug test in 1992.

7. She achieved fame when she became the first athlete in her country to win an Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

8. In 2010, she started an integrated campaign aptly tagged ‘Compete Fair & Clean’. She is also an officer with the Nigerian Police Force.

9. She was awarded with the national award, Member of the Order of Niger (MON) by the Head of State of Nigeria Sani Abacha.

10. She is the Chairperson of the Women’s Development Committee of Imo State Football Association. She is also a Member of Committee on the Revival of the Nigeria Academicals Sports Competitions.