Even before she left the shores of Nigeria for Brazil, Mariam Usman,
knew that winning a medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics would be a tough
call. She would not pretend to be a magician nor claim perfection where
there is none. Usman believes one can only reap where one sows.
The
Commonwealth medallist in the +75kg in weightlifting says she has lost
the urge to represent Nigeria at international events.
Mariam was
the only weightlifter that represented Nigeria here in Rio. She competed
in the +75 category and amassed 265 kg. She finished 8th in her group.
“It
is painful to come to the Olympics and see people who are your
contemporaries perform better than you; not because you lack the ability
but because you were not prepared like them,” she said, while speaking
to reporters at the Games Village, here in Rio.
“For me, it is not
just about jumping unto the plane every four years to go to the
Olympics. Every athlete you see here wants to step on the podium. If you
can’t aim to climb up there, you have no business coming to the
Olympics. I can only consider going to another Olympics if things change
for the better. But if the status quo is maintained, I don’t think I
will go to another Olympics again.”
She said training for the Rio Olympics was non-existent while her
counterparts from other countries who are competing here in Brazil have
been training for three to four years.
“Olympic gold medal doesn’t
come cheap. It is painful that one has to suffer and when competition
comes they expect you to win a medal with your blood.
“The people
you have to compete with had everything they needed: training grants,
competitions and are exposed to the most modern equipment. I had
nothing. You don’t expect such people who have invested so much to lose
to one who don’t even train adequately.”
The African champion said before the 2012 Olympics, she had better training than she did under the current dispensation.
“Yes,
I feel 2012 was better. I had better training and my result was better.
This time nothing was done to better one’s performance.”
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