Sport
Olympic hopes of Nigerian canoeist Johny Akinyemi
He is convinced that Nigeria and Africa more broadly could become the geographical powerhouse of the sport.
“What we’ve got here in London is great, it’s really great, but when you look in Africa there are all these natural white-water courses which are bigger and better than any of the man-made ones in Europe.
“And all those rivers are ready made and just waiting to be explored,” he says.
Bucking the trend
Africa regularly loses many of their highly skilled athletes to more lucrative leagues overseas.
Canoeing, however, seems to be bucking the trend.
French-born Togolese Benjamin Boukpeti took an Olympic bronze for Togo in Beijing in 2008.
Another hotly tipped paddler is the Senegalese-Canadian Dabakar Daoust.
Competing for Nigeria is important for Akinyemi.
“It felt really special to do it in reverse. For me to go back and to be accepted with open arms was truly a humble moment,” he said.
“They never had to take me.
“I’m really grateful to the Nigerian Olympic Committee for allowing me to do it and for helping me explore that side of me,” he added.
“If I can go there and help unlock the future of Nigerian young canoeing or in any way help to inspire young Nigerians to rise through the ranks and beat me then that would be a really great thing.”
Source: BBC
