Seventeen-year-old Nigerian swimmer Adaku Nwandu is setting her sights on achieving a new personal best as she proudly competes for Nigeria at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Nwandu, born in China to a Nigerian father and a Chinese mother, began her representation of Nigeria after participating in the National Sports Festival in Asaba in 2022. Despite her father hailing from Enugu, she competed for Bayelsa during the festival, where she contributed to setting a new national record of 9:28:30 in the women’s 4×200m freestyle relay.
Having qualified for the Olympics based on her World Aquatics (FINA) ranking, Nwandu will be competing in the women’s 50m freestyle on Saturday. Expressing her excitement, she said, “It feels surreal and I am thrilled to be here among such exceptional athletes. I never imagined reaching this point in my swimming career, but I’m eager to compete.”
Nwandu is focused on achieving a personal best, aiming to improve on her current record of 25.60 seconds in the 50m freestyle, which she set at the 10th Singapore National Championships in November 2023. She shared her approach, saying, “I try not to overthink and just focus on performing clearly. I’m keeping things as relaxed as possible.”
Nwandu’s journey in swimming began at age eight, inspired by a promise of ice cream from her father after a school competition. “I didn’t perform well initially, but my dad promised me ice cream every week if I did better,” she reminisced.
The women’s 50m freestyle will be the sole event for Team Nigeria on Saturday. Nwandu will compete in heat 6, alongside seven other swimmers, with only the top 16 out of 79 advancing to the semifinals.
