Falilat Ogunkoya Athlete
Falilat Ogunkoya (born 5 Dec 1968) is a Nigerian athlete. Falilat attended Mississippi state from 1987-1992 and graduated with a degree in Education. She was inducted to the all of fame in 1998 after she became the first person in school history to win an Olympic medal. In her collegiate years at MSU, she made All-American honors several times in the 100, 200 and 400 meters. Ogunkoya has won a number of national championships, including a gold medal in 1996 in the 400 metres, gold in the 200 metres and 400 m in 1998, and gold again in 1999 and 2001 in the 400 m. At the 1987 All Africa Games in Kenya she won the silver medal in the 200 m. In 1995 at the Zimbabwe Games she won the silver in the 400 m, and at the 1999 Games in South Africa she won a gold medal in the 400 m. At the 1996 Summer Olympics she won a bronze medal in the 400 m, behind Marie-José Pérec of France and Cathy Freeman of Australia, in a personal best and African record of 49.10, which is currently the twelfth fastest of all time. In her own words: "I started athletics in High School in 1983, in Ogun state of Nigeria under the watchful eyes of coach John Afuwape. I began to run the sprints as a junior athlete in 1984. At the 1984 African Zone 3 Junior Championships in Accra, Ghana, I won the 200 meters and was a member of the winning 400 meter relay team. This was my first International track meet. In 1986, I won a gold medal in the 200 meters (23.11s) at the inaugural edition of the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Junior Championships in Athens. Two years later, I was a quarterfinalist in the 200 meters at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. " "After the 1986 World junior Championship, I was awarded a track and field scholarship to Mississippi State University. As a collegian in the USA, I ran the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). I raced against the likes of Bahamian's Pauline Davis (University of Alabama) and America's Gwen Torrence (University of Georgia). I was a 7-time All American at Mississippi State University. " "In 1989, I was encouraged by coaches and colleague alike to change my event to the 400 meters. This will be my best move in track and field. During that year at the African Championships in Lagos, I won the 400 meters gold (51.22s) and was selected to represent Africa at the IAAF World Cup in Athletics in Spain. I won bronze medal (51.67s). My romance with the quarter mile however began at the 1987 4th All African Games in Nairobi, Kenya. There, the then Nigerian national track coach, Anthony Urhobo drafted Mary Onyali and myself to the winning 4X400 relay team. Our biggest rivals at the games were the Kenyan national team, who were favored to win but came in second to the Nigerian team. " "In a move that surprised many, including my then coach, Steve Thomas (Mississippi State University) I decided to quit track and field in 1990, and concentrate on my education. I was fed up with the sport because of the use of performance-enhancing drugs among some of the elite athletes back then. I felt cheated running against people who got chemical help to boost the performance. I also did not want myself associated with a sport that cast doubt on every good performance. Moreover, only few elite athletes made a living off track and field. " After a year of intensive training, I returned to the sport in 1994. A year later at the World Athletics Championships finals in Gothenburg, Sweden, I placed 6th in the 400 meters (50.77s). The year 1996 started out slow for me. I was at the prefontaine grand prix meet in Eugene, Oregon in May when I received a phone call that my mother had passed away. This was a devastating blow to me as I was very close to my mother and was so far away from home. I dedicated the rest of the track season to her memory. On June 28 of that year, I ran my first legal sub 50 second 400 meters (49.89s) at the Paris Grand Prix meet. I improved my time by running 49.60s on July 3 in Lausanne. "After my 49.60sec performance in Lausanne, Switzerland, I knew I was ready for the summer Olympics. " Surpassing her expectation, Falilat became the first Nigerian to win two medals in the same Olympics, a silver and a bronze at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.