Paris 2024: Nigeria duo through to women’s canoe doubles 500m final

Nigerian representatives in canoeing, Ayomide Bello and Beauty Otuedo will compete in Final B of women’s Canoe Doubles 500m event.

They both finished fifth in the first heat of the quarterfinals, getting to the line in a time of 2:07.86.

“I was born in a boat,” Ayomide said while speaking to the International Canoe Federation.

“While my mother was pregnant with me and when it was time for me to come out, she was paddling home and there was no one around. That day, along with many fish, there was a little baby.”

Otudeo and Bello won the women’s C2 500m event at the Canoe Sprint African Paris 2024 Qualifier in Nigeria.

Otudeo’s journey in canoeing has been far from easy.

As the Nigerian recalls her journey into canoeing in 2015 her voice trembles with emotion.

She remembers how depression in connection to the sport she loved most severed her connection with it for two years.

But in 2018, Otuedo decided to give canoeing one last shot with her elder brother, Goodluck Gbamire, coaching her.

The efforts has started yielding fruits at the Olympics.