![\"Seun](\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/nigeria1k-1.jpg\" "\\"Seun")
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NEW YORK \u2014 Seun Adigun told herself her athletic career was done after she ran her last race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. But for some reason, she couldn\u2019t bring herself to tell the world. <\/p>\n
Three years later, she realized: Adigun wasn\u2019t retiring \u2014 she was readying for a new sport. And her years competing as a 100-meter hurdler were great preparation what would come next. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the speed and the power and the strength that I needed to be able to be a successful bobsled athlete,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Adigun, 31, soon convinced fellow former runners Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga to join the team as brakemen. But they wouldn\u2019t just be newcomers to the sport. <\/p>\n
Next month, the trio will represent Nigeria as the country fields its first-ever bobsled team at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. The team is also a first, men\u2019s or women\u2019s, for the entire continent of Africa. <\/p>\n
Yes, they get the comparisons to \u201cCool Runnings\u201d \u2014 the 1993 film based on the true story of the Jamaica\u2019s first bobsled team, which was male, who competed in the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Canada \u2014 and say it\u2019s a legacy they embrace and a following they hope to emulate. <\/p>\n
But the peppy pioneers, all American-born and whose parents emigrated from Nigeria, said they also look forward to representing a positive story about their motherland. <\/p>\n
\u201cNigerians are so excited to see the country being represented,\u201d said Adigun, a Chicago native who is also a three-time national track champion for Nigeria. \u201cI realized exactly what was a void from the country of Nigeria, from the continent of Africa, and for women in general being represented.\u201d <\/p>\n
Onwumere, 26, agreed, adding: \u201cTo be the first to do anything is, I think, it\u2019s just something that you can\u2019t really explain.\u201d <\/p>\n
Their story will likely take on added meaning next month, after President Donald Trump\u2019s recent remarks about Africa\u2019s \u201cshithole countries.\u201d <\/p>\n
Their journey to South Korea has also been a fast one. Three years ago, the team was little more than an idea, a \u201ccrazy but amazing journey,\u201d said Adigun, the driver in role and personality who also helped recruit and coach Onwumere, who hails from Dallas, at their alma mater, the University of Houston. <\/p>\n
Once her teammates were on board, official Olympic rules required them to operate under a national governing body. None existed. <\/p>\n
The Bobsled and Skeleton Federation of Nigeria was formed. A GoFund Me campaign was created in 2016, and the team raised more than $75,000 in 14 months to pay for necessities like helmets, uniforms, travel and their first sled \u2014 a wooden vessel affectionately named \u201cThe Maeflower.\u201d They began practicing in Houston, without snow. <\/p>\n
The team\u2019s popularity soon attracted Visa and Under Armour as sponsors. To qualify for the Winter Games, the women had to complete five races. They met their goal in November. <\/p>\n
Along the way, their energy and enthusiasm has attracted attention in the U.S. and Nigeria. In December, they appeared on \u201cThe Ellen Show,\u201d and last week, tennis icon Serena Williams retweeted their Under Armour Olympics ad. <\/p>\n
The team said they\u2019re excited to walk into the stadium in Pyeongchang next month and have been working hard to be competitive as rookies among a pool of talented and experienced bobsledders. Their main goal is to be an example for their country and for women in the sport. <\/p>\n
A medal is almost too much to think of, said Omeoga, 26, who ran track at the University of Minnesota. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat actually has never even crossed my mind yet,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m just taking things one day at a time: Don\u2019t get too ahead of yourself, don\u2019t get too behind yourself, don\u2019t sell yourself short on anything.\u201d <\/p>\n