The recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympics was a captivating and thrilling event, but Nigeria emerged as the only team to return from Paris without a single medal, finishing at the bottom of the table in 86th place.

Nigeria concluded its participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics without securing a single medal, marking it as the country’s most disappointing performance since the London 2012 Games. The nation’s final hope rested on Hannah Reuben, who competed in the women’s freestyle wrestling 76kg category. However, Reuben was defeated in the second round, losing 5-2 by points to Mongolia’s Davaanasan Amar Enkh, ending Nigeria’s medal prospects.

The Nigerian contingent, comprising 87 athletes competing across 12 sports, was unable to reach the podium in any event. The D’Tigress, Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, emerged as the standout performers by advancing to the quarterfinals—a historic achievement for African basketball.

The games, under the motto “Games Wide Open (French: Ouvrons Grand les Jeux),” were held in the heart of France. The Paris Olympics featured 10,714 athletes from 216 countries, with a total of 1,436 medals awarded. Topping the medals chart is the United States with a total of 126 medals, followed by China with 91. Both nations secured an equal number of 40 gold medals.

Host country France secured 64 medals, including 16 golds. Kenya leads the African nations with four gold, two silver, and five bronze medals. Our analysis shows that the top 10 countries captured 40.11 percent of the total medals awarded at the games.

The outcome has led to reflection on the state of Nigerian sports, as the nation looks ahead to future international competitions with hopes of a better showing.