By Monica Iheakam
Nigeria’s hope of making an appreciable impact at the ongoing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in China came to an end Tuesday, as the country’s sole representative, Samuel Ikpefan, crashed out of the Skiing event.
Ikepfan failed to make it to the quarterfinals of the Men’s Sprint Free in Cross- Country Skiing, even as he has written his name in history as the first -ever Nigerian skier to participate at the Winter Olympic Games.
The French -born Nigerian skier finished with a time of 3:09.57 and ranked 73rd out of 88 participants.
Ikpefan activated his nationality to enable him to become the first Nigerian Skier to qualify for the Winter Olympics and the first male athlete to make the games.
This is the second time Nigeria is participating in the Winter Olympics since her debut in 2018 at the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea where Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere, Akuoma and Simidele Adeagbo represented the country.