Modupe Oshikoya

"Running and jumping came to me naturally. It was while I took to athletics which was known as track and field then. I took part in basketball, badminton, table tennis, and a few other sports when I was growing up but it was athletics that I stuck to."

"I didn’t get much encouragement from home at all because they didn’t know too much about sports. My mum wasn’t that educated enough to know what sports is all about."

"Education was very important to me as an athlete back then. I took it seriously right from when I was in Nigeria and even when I got to the United States and ran for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the coaches were trying to make athletics the major priority. I made them know that I came to the US for my education while athletics is secondary. I made sure I got my degrees first. I know that with the education I have something to fall back on in the case of injury or retirement from the sport."

"My love for track and field made it fun and interesting for me to go to extra length to achieve the results I got. I would have won three gold medals at the 1978 African Games but I picked up a groin injury that forced me to pull out of the 100m hurdles. At the 1973 African Games, I competed in the high jump, 100m hurdle, and long jump and I clinched the gold medals in the three events. I was thrilled to win the gold medals as it was just fun for me then."

"The Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1974 in New Zealand in the long jump event was special. I was close to winning the gold in the hurdles too but I tripped towards it and ended up with a bronze medal."

"We were already at the 1976 Montreal, Olympics in Canada and waiting for the opening ceremony before we pulled out of the competition a day before it. Everybody was disappointed because of the hard work we had put in preparing for the Olympics for four years but it wasn’t the end of the world."

"My mum was a strong woman but she didn’t really understand what the sport is all about. She was there for me whenever she can and whatever she could do for me, she tried her best."

"They (Government of Nigeria) must catch the athletes when they are young. We started very young. They must encourage the athletes with good incentives to be able to compete."

"I will tell the athletes to work hard and not to let sports get into their heads. They must complement their endowed talents with education. It gives them something good to hold on to after their retirement. Also as an athlete, you need to be disciplined and make up your mind on what you want. You must determine what you want to do with your life."