Follow @9jaLife Nigeria's first Olympic Games individual medalist in athletics and the only sportsperson to have won two Olympic Games medals, Falilat Ogunkoya-Omotayo, shares her childhood experiences, career, marriage with Prof. Seun Omotayo and lots more in this interview with 'TANA AIYEJINA How did you start running? I am from a polygamous family and I started running with three of my sisters- my elder sister from my mother and my other two sisters from my step mother- from the primary school. We ran relays for our school. The four of us were the fastest, so we represented St. John Anglican Primary School, Odelemo, in the relays. I left my school for Sijuade Nursery and Primary School, Ife because my father wanted me to go there. I spent one year there and returned to my hometown, Odelemo. My primary school sports master incidentally moved to the new secondary school, a Muslim school, in the town. They wanted to go for 4x100m relays. The man drew a line and said, 'Run.' My siblings and I occupied the first four places and he picked all of us to represent the secondary school. They brought a coach from Abeokuta, John Afuwape. Then they had all secondary school games in Remo, sponsored by A.A. Adesanya and I went to Sagamu to compete, there were no spike shoes. I ran the 100m, long jump, 4x400m, 4x100m. They said for me to be the most valuable athlete, I had to run the 1,500m, I did and I won all the events I participated in. That was when coach Efuakpe came to see my dad. Were your parents against you going into sports? My mum was really worried because I was born as premature and for three months she was with me in the hospital while I was in the incubator. But my dad felt, 'Maybe this is the path God has chosen for her.' We used to travel every week, running in different schools, chasing towels, plastics and flasks. So it became fun for me until we went to Abeokuta to compete in 1980 in preparation for school sports. I ran a race but I was very scared because great athletes [...]
