Seun Adigun

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Seun Adigun
Seun Adigun in 2022
Personal information
National teamNigeria
Born (1987-01-03) 3 January 1987 (age 38)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Education
Sport
SportRunning
EventHurdles
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Nigeria
African Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Maputo 100 m hurdles
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Nairobi 100 m hurdles

Moriam Seun Adigun (born 3 January 1987, Chicago)[1] is a Nigerian–American chiropractor, bobsledder, and former runner who specialized in the 100 metres hurdles.

Early life and education

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Adigun was born in Chicago, USA. As a child she played many sports including flag football and tennis, and participated in basketball and track and field when she was in high school. She got a scholarship to the University of Houston and participated for their women's track and field team for all four of her undergraduate years. She ended her college sports career with a bronze medal at the NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Adigun graduated from Houston with a degree in exercise science with a concentration in health professions and a minor in psychology. She went on to obtain a master's degree in physical education.[2] She also obtained a bachelor's degree in human biology and a doctorate in chiropractic at the Texas Chiropractic College.[3]

Sporting career

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Adigun is a three-time Nigeria National Champion and two-time African Games Champion.[2][4] She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but did not qualify from her heat.[1] In 2016, she founded the Nigerian bobsled team.[4] She represented Nigeria at the 2018 Winter Olympics in two-women bobsled, becoming part of the first-ever Winter Olympians from the country.[5] Seun Adigun was the first ever African athlete who participated both in Summer and Winter Olympics.[4] Additionally, the Nigerian bobsled team that she founded was the first African team to participate in bobsled at the Winter Olympics.[6]

She has mentored high school students on behalf of the Nigerian Bobsled & Skeleton Federation since 2016. She became a Special Olympics Global Ambassador in 2018,[7] and became a member of the Special Olympics Board of Directors in 2024.[4] In 2024 she hosted a Nigerian heritage celebration with the Houston Rockets.[8]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Nigeria
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 27th (h) 100 m hurdles 13.33
16th (h) 4 × 100 m relay 46.54
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 22nd (h) 60 m hurdles 8.58
African Championships Nairobi, Kenya 1st 100 m hurdles 13.14
Continental Cup Split, Croatia 6th 100 m hurdles 13.48
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 19th (sf) 100 m hurdles 13.14
All-Africa Games Maputo, Mozambique 1st 100 m hurdles 13.20
2012 World Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 8th 60 m hurdles 8.33

Personal life

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Seun Adigun had a sister named Amezee, nicknamed "Mae-Mae", who died in a car accident. Two of the sleds used by the Nigeria bobsled team, Maeflower 1 and Maeflower 2, were named in her honor.[9] Additionally, Adigun is a distant cousin of NBA player Hakeem Olajuwon.[10][11]

Awards and nominations

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In 2018, Adigun was given the Woman of Inspiration Award by the Women In Sports & Events (WISE) group.[12] Also in 2018, she was honored as Nigerian Sports Woman of the Year at the Nigerian Sports Awards.[13] She appeared at the tenth annual iWrite Literacy Organization luncheon in 2019, where she was honored as one of seven women who "exemplify global leadership".[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Seun Adigun". Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Seun Adigun". www.teamusa.com. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  3. ^ Adigun, Seun. "About Dr. Seun". seunadigun.com. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "Dr. Seun Adigun". SpecialOlympics.org. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Nigerian bobsled team will be country's first-ever Winter Olympics representatives". Australia: ABC News. 17 November 2017.
  6. ^ Lowe, Jaime (31 January 2018). "The First African Team to Compete in Bobsled". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Seun Adigun Announced as Special Olympics Global Ambassador". SpecialOlympics.org. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  8. ^ DuBose, Ben. "Rockets host multiple events to celebrate Nigerian heritage in Houston". Rockets Wire. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  9. ^ Brewer, Jerry (20 February 2018). "If you want to celebrate Olympic diversity, women's bobsled is a good place to be". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 20 February 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  10. ^ Solomon, Jerome (17 July 2012). "After heart surgeries, no hurdle is too large for Olympian". Chron.
  11. ^ "'We're showing people that anyone can do anything'". ESPN. 20 February 2018.
  12. ^ "WISE Houston 2018 End of Year Celebration". wisehou.org. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  13. ^ 2018 Nigerian Sports Award Team Sports Person of the Year Acceptance Speech. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2025 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ Sewing, Joy (21 November 2019). "100 student authors honored, $100k raised at iWrite luncheon". Chron.
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