Eke targets medal in gymnastics at maiden Olympics

The first Nigerian athlete to compete in gymnastics event at the Olympics, Uche Eke has set his sights on winning a medal for Nigeria in Tokyo.

After a gold-winning debut at the African Games in Morocco in 2019, the 23-year-old will be going all out to show the world the result of 20 years of training; preparations that started when he started doing backflips in his parents’ sitting room.

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“I am not under any pressure, I just want to go out there and do my stuff,” he said. “I want to win a medal for Nigeria, but first I will need to get to the final. That is the first step to winning a medal.

“I will be competing in six events and if I make the finals, anything can happen. I want to go out there and put all the hard work of 20 years, when I first started gymnastics, to the test.

“I am not going to be concentrating on any other person. I will focus on myself and do what I have to do out there.”

Speaking on how he felt soon after he qualified for the Olympics, the USA-based athlete said it was a dream come true for him.

“I pinched myself and had to ask myself if I was dreaming or if I really did it,” he said.

Eke is scheduled to compete at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, in Tokyo, the venue of the Olympic Games gymnastics events from Saturday, July 24.