Nigeria’s weightlifter Joy Ogbonne Eze, set to compete in the women’s 71kg category at Paris 2024, has expressed her ambition to make a memorable debut at the Olympics.

Eze, who earned three gold medals at the 2023 African Games in Ghana, shared with NWF Media that she was confident in her abilities after securing her place in the prestigious event.

“I was overwhelmed with emotion when I found out I had qualified for the Olympic Games. This will be my first Olympic appearance, and I’m determined to seize the opportunity,” Eze told NWFL Media.

“I’ve invested a lot of hard work and effort into my training sessions and plan to maintain this level of dedication until the Games begin. I’m thankful to the diligent NWF President, Dr. Ibrahim Abdul, and his board members for promptly setting up a training camp after our qualification. We trained intensively for about two months before the Ministry of Sports took over last month.”

Eze also highlighted the benefits of her training stint in Germany, which she believes will help her perform at her best in Paris. She is committed to representing her country with the utmost dedication.

At just 20 years old, Eze is a two-time gold medallist from the African Games in 2019 and 2023, and she also won gold in the women’s 64kg category at the 2021 African Weightlifting Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, among other achievements.

She is determined to follow in the footsteps of Ruth Ogbeifo and Mariam Usman, who won silver and bronze for Nigeria in the 75kg and +75kg weight classes at the Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008 Olympics, respectively.