Women Born In The 1990s

"I had to raise her (Usman) to 160kg because she was no stranger to that. She lifted 170kg. She went to London to win, but Usman lost focus. I don’t know what happened, but she bungled it. It was painful. I brought her up and I know her capability."

"Usman is the only one for weightlifting event in Rio; she did excellently well at the qualifiers which saw her through and she was able to secure the Olympic ticket."

"I feel really excited about winning. I've had my mind on gold ever since the very beginning. I believed I would get it and I did."

"I have won a couple of medals in several competitions but I yearn for an Olympic medal. It is the ultimate reward an athlete can get to show that one got to the peak of sport. And so it really hurts when one cannot get to the podium to receive an Olympic medal. Hurts real good."

"It hurts a lot when you know that you have the capacity to do better but because certain things are not right in our preparations for the Games, one then fails to meet set target. I don’t want to sound as if I am giving excuses for my inability to make the podium. What I am saying is that we should not go to the next Games in four years time in Tokyo, Japan and also be in this same state of poor outing. I am appealing to whoever will be in-charge of Nigeria sports not allow things again turn lout like this. There should be better preparations, more encouragement for Nigerian athletes. Those other athletes (from other countries) that we competed against had everything as in everything to succeed. It just does not make sense to expect good result from Nigerian athletes who are competing with those who have been preparing in the last three years. We Nigerian athletes are just competing with tears and blood. It is through sheer personal determination to succeed that is driving Nigerian athletes. It just does not add up like that."

"We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. If our sports authorities want Nigerian athletes to begin to win like the rest athletes from around the world, we must begin to do things differently to get the type of results others are getting."

"I decided to become a weightlifter because of the intimidation from boys. I felt I needed to look like that so I can earn some respect from males and let them know that women can be like them too. Since I started, I have had no regrets at all as I have been able to win laurels for myself and the nation. Also, I can feed comfortable without disturbing anybody and my family is happy."

"The secret of my success is not far-fetched. With all honesty and modesty, I can say that determination and hard work are the keys to my success and I believe that other athletes can also achieve success if they are determined and hard working."

"I feel honoured and glad to be voted as the Weightlifter of the Year 2014 by Nigerians. It was an honour that I feel is also a challenge for me to continue to do more, and promise not to disappoint the country (Nigeria)."

"I feel 2012 was better. I had better training and my result was better. This time nothing was done to better one’s performance."

"Olympic gold medal doesn’t come cheap. It is painful that one has to suffer and when competition comes they expect you to win a medal with your blood. The people you have to compete with had everything they needed: training grants, competitions and are exposed to the most modern equipment. I had nothing. You don’t expect such people who have invested so much to lose to one who don’t even train adequately."

"For me, it is not just about jumping unto the plane every four years to go to the Olympics. Every athlete you see here wants to step on the podium. If you can’t aim to climb up there, you have no business coming to the Olympics. I can only consider going to another Olympics if things change for the better. But if the status quo is maintained, I don’t think I will go to another Olympics again."

"It is painful to come to the Olympics and see people who are your contemporaries perform better than you; not because you lack the ability but because you were not prepared like them."

"Thank God for exposure at previous Olympics, continental championships and series of trials that has helped me to garner the basic points that earned me this Olympic ticket."

"The preparation is nothing to talk about; but I am not discouraged, rather I’m taking it up as a challenge to increase the tempo of my training outside the national camp. We have been in camp for the past two months training seriously, this will enable me to win a medal this time around and I know that almighty God will support my effort. I was in Beijing and London Olympics in 2008 and 2012 respectively, but couldn’t win any medal. However, this is another opportunity for me and I must make the difference this time."

"It was unfortunate that Amalaha was stripped of the medal she won at the Commonwealth Games, I could recall that after she was warned against drinking Zobo after the African Youth Games in Gaborone, Botswana last May where she won three gold medals, when we returned to Abuja for camping ahead of the Commonwealth Games, she still sneaked out to drink Zobo again."

"Further to your (Amalaha) appearance today at the federation’s court (CGF) we hereby notify you that the court has decided that you have violated its rules through the use of banned drugs. The class of substances contained in her urine sample collected on July 29, 2014 are diuretic and masking agent as well as Hydrochlorothiazide. The court decision is that the following sanctions be imposed on you; that you are fully suspended from the 2014 Commonwealth Games. That you are disqualified from the 53kg weightlifting event within which you took part at the 2014 Commonwealth Games with all results nullified. That the gold medal and price awarded to you should be forfeited and returned."

"I am rather saddened and disappointed this has happened to a 16-year-old (Chika). We will need to see if the 'B' sample matches the 'A.' Then if it does the girl will be removed from the games and it will be up to the international weightlifting federation to apply a sanction and then she would lose her medal."

"The Commonwealth Games Federation has determined that Nigerian weightlifter, Chika Amalaha, has committed an anti-doping rule violation and has fully suspended her from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. As a result, Ms Amalaha has been disqualified from her event at the Games, with her result in the Women’s Weightlifting 53 kilogram competition nullified."

"I am very disappointed that somebody as young as that (Chika) appears to have committed an offence at a multi-sport event like the Commonwealth Games."

"The relevant processes, as detailed in our anti-doping standard for the Games, are now being followed and Ms Amalaha has pursued her right to have her B sample tested. This will take place at an accredited laboratory in London tomorrow, 30 July. Upon receipt of those results the process will continue."

"We [have] issued a formal notice of disclosure to an athlete following an adverse analytical finding as a consequence of an in-competition test. That athlete is Nigerian weightlifter Chika Amalaha who was tested on 25 July. That athlete has now been suspended from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow."

"I started at the age of 12, but my family were strongly against me doing the sport at first. They kept me telling to stop doing it, but I persuaded them by getting a female coach. From then on, it was hard work, training, a lot of pain and dedication that got me here today. And now my family were in the audience and they are so excited and so proud."

"When we achieve, we usually do so because others have helped. I acknowledge those who have helped in achieving this goal, especially, to God who has strengthened me spiritually, physically, emotionally, and psychological."

"My biggest fear is how they will treat this little girl (Chika). She is strong and has passion for the sport but I fear that, as is the case in Nigeria, the authorities may discard her. I plead with them to console her and encourage her. She has a bright future and what happened is entirely not her fault. It is the coaches. The authorities have to find a way to make her forget about this incident and move on with focus on realising the place of her dream in weightlifting."

"I feel very sad about this development and that is why I had to rush in from London to see our weightlifters. I sympathise abjectly with Chika. She is just a young girl, very strong and promising in the sport and did not deserve to be brought into this kind of situation. I blame our coaches squarely for her predicament. As I see it, the issue is about meeting the right weight and she couldn’t have accessed drugs all on her own. I understand she competed about three months ago in Mauritius and she won without drugs, so how come she used those drugs now? Even if she got them herself, it is the duty of the coaches to know whatever medications their athletes are using and to research to be sure if the drugs contain banned substances."

"It is sad it is a junior (Chika) and I hope they will learn from this experience. I think the international federation should look at it carefully and see whether there are mitigating circumstances when it comes to the sanctions. Being a junior obviously there must be some culpability from those that are looking after her, whether it is coaches or managers or doctors."

"Tobi Amusan is my best friend, everybody knows. It was amazing for us because this is what we are trained for. She deserves it so much. Last championships, we just got one medal. Now we are getting out with two medals. It is a wonderful night for Nigeria, for all of us."

"I’m excited and grateful to God. I’m super happy that I was able to make the top three. I’ll say I’m not the best athlete but I’m grateful to God for bringing me this far. I can’t contain my joy no matter the colour of the medal."

"It's a huge achievement for me and my coach. It was a surprise for us at first and, you know, it was something that we didn't expect to happen at that moment. It just happened. And we're still trying to recover from it. And hopefully...I'm able to back this distance, and hopefully, it should get me a medal."

"The Rio Olympics taught me that you should never look down on yourself and stick to what you believe in. I told myself if I'm able to make it to the final with one leg, I should be able to make the podium on two legs."

"To win a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2019 gave me a lot of confidence that, 'OK, so I can actually compete with the top athletes in the world. I could actually do better still because that wasn't my best, you know, so it made me believe that I could get better. And so far, I have been working with that mindset, and it's helping me, and I can see a lot of improvement."

"ESE BRUME HAS WON A GOLD MEDAL! It was never in doubt, but Brume after coming under an early pressure, pulled up TWO Games Records, jumping 700 to reclaim her #CommonwealthGames crown. If there's ever an athlete who always delivers for Naija (Nigeria), it is Ese Brume."

"I proudly congratulate the duo of Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume, both winning at the Diamond League held in Eugene, Oregon, United States of America. Oluwatobiloba Amusan for winning the 100m Women’s Hurdles in a time of 12.33 to reclaim her Diamond League title while Nigerian long jumper, Ese Brume for her silver medal achievement in the long jump event at the Diamond League. The duo of Tobi and Brume represents strength, mental toughness, and the Nigerian spirit....From the Olympics to the Commonwealth Games to the Diamond Leagues, Ese has consistently ranked among the top athletes in her sport globally. I join millions of Nigerians globally to felicitate with both Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume on their deserved wins at the Diamond League. Both victories are those that will restore their confidence after the difficult ordeal both passed through this year....Brume came close to winning her first Diamond League title after leaping 6.85m, just as Ivana Vuketa, who won gold, I am mostly proud of her for finishing strong, despite missing out on first place by very small margins. I urge Tobi, Brume, and other Nigerian athletes to reflect on this season, applaud themselves for their hard work, and look towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games."

"Ese Brume has continued to make us proud time and again. From the Olympics to the Commonwealth Games to the Diamond Leagues, Ese has consistently ranked amongst the top athletes in her sports, globally, While it is disappointing that she narrowly missed out on the Diamond League title, I want to state that the country remains proud of her achievements. I am sure that she will bounce back and take her rightful place. I urge her and other athletes likewise to stay focused on the bigger picture as we draw closer to the 2024 Olympic Games."

"I was talking to her (Brume) about education, and I asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She talked about beauty pageants, they had a beauty pageant in a church that week, and she was going to be part of it. I told her that, you know, you can be in beauty pageants in many things in life. So I encouraged her to go to school, and I encouraged her to step in training."

"My dream is to become the world’s best so I know that for the World Championships, I will be on the medals table because I should be doing much better before then. If not the GOLD, I will be on the medals table."

"It has been a great season for me right from April when I was injured but I never settled for less no matter the challenges. I keep on pushing and my coach keeps telling me that Ese you can do it. It is not all about the training but the faith I have in God."

"This is one thing I really wanted, to get the Games record. This is special for me because it shows consistency. It shows the hard work of all those that have supported me and my coach, who has been backing me up. Sometimes it's about how you're able to show that what you're doing is not a fluke."

"I told myself that I had to tell the federation and everyone that it was about my run up. I wanted to prove everyone wrong, because everyone was like ‘What was wrong with me?’ I was the world leader and all of a sudden I came last. I had to turn to God and put Him first and He did it."

"I know this will be an inspiration for them (young girls). Of course, when you see someone you look up to doing well, you want to definitely be like them. So this is going to motivate and inspire them. I hope it works."

"Pressure is coming in from different places, from Nigeria, from my team, from Africa as a whole. I try as much as possible not to let that overwhelm me, take it one step at a time, not to rush. I try not to panic at any point in time and I do not see anyone as a rival. It's something that has helped me, and it has really brought me this far. And then the only thing to do is to surpass my personal best. I try to beat myself."

"I want to make young girls believe that all things are possible. You know they can do exactly or even better than what I'm doing right now. I'm not any super girl from one unique place. No, I'm a local girl from Ughelli. So if this local girl can do it, can come this far from nothing to become something, then you also can do it."

"Last season (2015) I scored some 30 goals in the league and this season I had eight after the first four matches. But I know that I have to keep on working hard to keep scoring. That is what I want to do, as I just love scoring goals."

"With Chinaza and Uchenna we get two good offensive players that complement and spearhead our team, which also gives the squad better balance and durability."

"Linkopings FC has always been one of the top teams in the OBOS Damallsvenskan. I like the Swedish league which has both good teams and players, and I like Linkopings FC's way of playing. It fits me perfectly and is good for my continued development as a football player. I really feel that this is a step in the right direction for me."

"I thought that Ebere was at times one of the elite players last year (2019) and she will hopefully add a further edge to our offensive. I also think it is an advantage that she knows Swedish football after her three years here and of course it has also made possible very reliable references from different angles."

"This was my best World Cup experience. To play in the final against the host was a terrific achievement and to come home with a silver medal is something I will cherish forever."

"I was sent off and that was really tough for my side. Although we managed to draw 2-2, it was not enough and we were knocked out. It was very disappointing."

"Being so young, I had not traveled widely and to see this beautiful country with the sea surrounding, it was a wonderful experience. I had not seen anything like that before."