FIBA: Ify Okoro on how Nigeria made historical past on the 2024 Olympics

Swish Enchantment rapidly caught up with Ify Okoro to listen to in regards to the 2024 Olympic Video games. Okoro was a member of the Nigerian Nationwide Workforce that made historical past in Paris, not solely by successful the workforce’s first Olympic recreation in 20 years but additionally by changing into the primary African workforce—ladies’s or males’s—to achieve the quarterfinals.

We focus on the three group video games, Rena Wakama’s teaching, the sisterhood between gamers and the workforce’s reception within the nation. Listed here are a couple of highlights:

On coming into the court docket towards France in her Olympic debut:

It felt actually nice as a result of coming to the Olympics is each athlete’s dream. So stepping on the court docket was like a breath of recent air…..After I stepped on the court docket, I used to be, “Okay. We simply hold doing what we’ve been doing,” which is taking part in protection and stopping the ball after which taking part in offense and that’s all we did.

On Coach Wakama protecting the bench gamers motivated:

For us it’s past basketball as a result of we’re like sisters, you recognize? So no matter wherever you’re, we assist one another, no matter what your place is, what your position is, us going out collectively is like we’re there for one another. We’re there to assist one another. So whether or not your quantity known as or not. And in order that’s what she’s like, “Simply prepare. Simply keep prepared” and that vitality simply makes us really feel like, “Okay, sure, I would like to remain prepared even after I’m on the bench.” I must be prepared as a result of, clearly, if you’re on the bench, you must assist these which are taking part in to have the ability to get in, as a result of if you get in additionally you want the identical assist.

On the assist she obtained after the workforce made the quarterfinals:

I obtained a variety of messages, a complete lot. I’m grateful for the people who reached out as a result of they had been all supporting us and simply praying for us to maintain going. I obtained a variety of messages. I couldn’t even undergo them.