Former hurdler set to make history at Winter Games

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Seun Adigun will drive the first African bobsled in the history of the Winter Olympic Games this year, according to CNN. 

Adigun, who grew up in Chicago, was a hurdler at Homewood-Flossmoor High and at the University of Houston. 

She competed for Nigeria in the 2012 London Summer Games in the 100-meter hurdles but did not advance past the first round. 

Adigun was third at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2009 in the hurdles final.

She got her start in bobsled in a Texas garage with a makeshift wooden sled. 

"This is beyond a dream come true," Adigun told CNN. 

Adigun's history-making foray into bobsled should be big news not only in Nigeria but in her home state of Illinois. 

She has qualified to compete in PyeongChang, South Korea with teammates Akuoma Omeoga and Ngozi Onwumere. All three went to U.S. high schools and competed at the NCAA Division 1 level in track and field.

Omeoga grew up in Minnesota and was a member of the University of Minnesota track and field team. Onwumere was also a sprinter at Houston, graduating in 2014.

Omeoga and Onwumere will serve as brakewomen on the Nigerian sled.