Swish Appeal quickly caught up with Ify Okoro to hear about the 2024 Olympic Games. Okoro was a member of the Nigerian National Team that made history in Paris, not only by winning the team’s first Olympic game in 20 years but also by becoming the first African team—women’s or men’s—to reach the quarterfinals.
We discuss the three group games, Rena Wakama’s coaching, the sisterhood between players and the team’s reception in the country. Here are a few highlights:
On entering the court against France in her Olympic debut:
It felt really great because coming to the Olympics is every athlete’s dream. So stepping on the court was like a breath of fresh air…..When I stepped on the court, I was, “Okay. We just keep doing what we’ve been doing,” which is playing defense and stopping the ball and then playing offense and that’s all we did.
On Coach Wakama keeping the bench players motivated:
For us it’s beyond basketball because we’re like sisters, you know? So regardless of wherever you are, we support each other, regardless of what your position is, what your role is, us going out together is like we’re there for each other. We’re there to support each other. So whether your number is called or not. And so that’s what she’s like, “Just get ready. Just stay ready” and that energy just makes us feel like, “Okay, yes, I need to stay ready even when I’m on the bench.” I need to be ready because, obviously, when you’re on the bench, you have to support those that are playing to be able to get in, because when you get in also you need the same support.
On the support she received after the team made the quarterfinals:
I received a lot of messages, a whole lot. I’m grateful for the people that reached out because they were all supporting us and just praying for us to keep going. I received a lot of messages. I couldn’t even go through them.