Precious Ogunleye Competes at African Games
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – While most University of Miami students spent the early parts of September getting acclimated to new professors and courses, Hurricanes thrower Precious Ogunleye was on another continent competing against some of the best athletes in Africa.
Ogunleye was a member of Team Nigeria at the 2015 African Games, hosted in Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo.
“It was a humbling experience,” Ogunleye said. “I was really nervous going in and without my coach, it was really difficult. But I think me working on my mental game helped a lot. That’s what I really worked on when I was there. I didn’t have the best meet of the season, but definitely, mentally, I feel like I strengthened myself for this upcoming season.”
Ogunleye competed in the throws for Nigeria, placing fourth in the discus and fifth in the hammer throw. She is grateful for the opportunity to compete internationally for the country that her family hails from.
“I’m still kind of taking everything in,” Ogunleye said. “I still can’t believe I got to compete for my country in the African Games. When people say, ‘Oh, you went to the Congo’, I’m like ‘Yeah. Surprisingly enough, I did go and I did get to wear a Nigeria uniform’. It was fun. It was a lot of fun. I feel like I did my best.”
Her path to the African Games began during the 2015 season at Miami. Ogunleye excelled for the Hurricanes, winning the ACC outdoor title in the women’s hammer throw. As her 2015 campaign continued to progress well, the dream of competing for Nigeria began to become more of a reality.
“I think in the beginning of the season, I had my mind set on wanting to compete for my country,” Ogunleye said. “I think mid-season, towards I think it was after the FSU Invitational where I did good in all three events, one of the coaches from the team reached out to me and asked me if I was interested. Throughout the season I thought about it and after nationals I made the final decision to go along with it.”
Ogunleye competed at the Nigerian National Championships, competing in the hammer throw, discus and shot put. The senior took home two silver medals, placing second in the hammer throw with a mark of 57.86m and second in the discus with a throw of 48.63m. Ogunleye also posted a mark of 14.35m in the shot put, placing fourth.
“It was big because it showed me that I have potential and that it wasn’t just a fluke meet where I’m just coming from the United States and competing in Nigeria,” Ogunleye said. “It boosted my confidence. I was pumped and ready to go to the African Games.”
The experience competing for Nigeria at the African Games came with many fond memories for Ogunleye, calling it one of the best experiences of her athletic career.
“I think just being in the Congo and the setting, it was beautiful out there,” Ogunleye said. “The stadium was so pretty and they had a couple different stadiums, and I got to watch different sports like handball. I watched beach volleyball and I watched some of the Special Olympics. I think my most fun memory was definitely just the setting of everything. It was really, really pretty there. I like the stadium and it was so big.”
Ogunleye will look to carry her success into the 2015-16 season, her final year at Miami. The senior will look to improve in all her event areas and defend her ACC outdoor title in the hammer throw. She also hopes to return to compete for Nigeria at next year’s African Games and possibly the Olympics.
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