Mercy Akide

"On our legacies because we were their role models. We did not bring the trophy home but that (qualifying for the Olympics) was a trophy for us."

"The idea was to leave a legacy behind. We prayed and worked extremely hard in training."

"We told ourselves that we were not just Nigerians but Africans and that we wanted to make the continent proud."

"For me, there was no substitute for working hard on my own, long after training."

"“I feel blessed to have been the first woman to win this award back then in 1999.""

"I am excited that other Nigerians have done it again and I hope that we will see more of this in future."