Chioma Ajunwa, first Nigerian olympic gold medalist, decorated as deputy commissioner of police

Chioma Ajunwa, first Nigerian olympic gold medalist, decorated as deputy commissioner of police

Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medalist, Chioma Ajunwa, has been appointed as a deputy commissioner of police and was recently decorated by her new boss, Assistant Inspector-General of Police Frank Mba.

Mba, formerly the spokesman of the Nigeria Police Force, shook hands with Ajunwa and they posed for photographs to mark the occasion.

Ajunwa made history in 1996 by becoming the first Nigerian to win a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Additionally, she holds the distinction of being the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal in a field event.

Another remarkable achievement is that she is the only woman to have competed in both the FIFA Women’s World Cup as a footballer and the Olympics as a track and field athlete.

Before her successful career in athletics, Ajunwa played football for the Nigerian women’s team, known as The Falcons, during the 1991 Women’s World Cup.

However, she faced constant benching during that time.

Following her exceptional performance and gold medal win at the Atlanta ’96 Olympics, Ajunwa was honoured with the national award of Member of the Order of Niger (MON) by the then Head of State, Sani Abacha.