Adama Wins Nigeria’s First-Ever Medal at World Aquatics Meet

By: Gyang Dakwo

Nigeria’s Abdul Jabar Adama has written his name in history at the World Junior Championships, becoming the first swimmer from his country, male or female, to win a medal at a World Aquatics competition.

Adama finished the race in 23.64 seconds, just one tenth of a second behind gold medalist Dean Fearn of Great Britain. Czech swimmer Jan Foltyn claimed the bronze in 23.65, only one hundredth of a second behind Adama, which made the race one of the closest of the night.

The 17-year-old had already broken his national record twice earlier in the competition. He first lowered the mark to 23.61 during the preliminaries on Friday morning, and later swam 23.48 in the semifinals to place second overall. His previous national record was 23.81, which he set in March at the British Swimming Championships.

Adama trains at Mount Kelly Swimming in the United Kingdom, and he has been steadily improving as a promising talent for Nigeria. The event he raced in will make its Olympic debut after World Aquatics gave approval in April, and three more years of growth could see him competing strongly for a place in the final.

Nigeria has won only 27 medals in its Olympic history across all sports, and no swimmer has ever made it to the podium. Adama’s medal may not yet prove he is ready to challenge at the senior level, but his age and progress point to a bright future.

His semifinal time of 23.48 would have been just two tenths off a place in the semifinals at the World Championships, and it was also only a tenth of a second away from the World Aquatics “A” standard of 23.36. That shows that Adama is closing in fast on the top level and could be one to watch as the Olympic Games draw nearer.