Paris Olympics: Team Nigerian wins another medal in controversy as condemnations greet cyclist revelation that she borrowed bicycle

Team Nigeria may not have made the news for making podium appearances at the ongoing Paris Olympic Games but it is leading being in the news for controversy.

The latest is the revelation by cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye, that she had to borrow a bicycle from her German counterpart to participate in the Keirin and Sprint.

Ukpeseraye revealed this in a post on her X page on Thursday.

She claimed that it was due to the short notice given to her.

“Due to the short notice of me competing at the Keirin & Sprint, #teamNigeria I had no bicycle to race with on the tracks.

“In the spirit of sportsmanship, the German team @bunddeutscherradfahr came to my rescue by offering me a bicycle.

“Thank you,” Ukpeseraye wrote.

But Cycling Federation debunked the story as a wrong presentation of the facts.

CFN president Giadomenico Massari told the media that Ukpeseraye only qualified for the Road Race and she was prepared for that event in terms of training and equipment, adding that her participation in two track events, Kerin and Sprint was an emergency following the disqualification of an Egyptian track athlete.

The CFN president stressed that the track events require special equipment which was  “approved specifically for the Olympic track event and it requires many months before it can be delivered and through our supporter and equipment sponsors, we were able to get the bike for the competition.

The German team is in partnership with our supporters and sponsors and the arrangement was made to prevent her from missing the competition.