Can Enoch Adegoke do it again at Paris 2024?

Posted : 18 October 2023

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke was born on March 8, 2000, into a Christian family. For him, sprinting is life, and he understands the terrain, having risen from a cadet champion to the elite athletics in grand style. He now holds an anchor of bearing and a tag as the "next big thing in sprint," a label that is not too much of a burden for him to bear, given his pedigree.

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke's parents are both pastors, Reverend (Dr.) and Mrs. Nathaniel Adetunji Adegoke, and he is the second child among his four siblings.

He attended St. Mary’s Catholic Nursery and Primary School in Igbeti. Afterward, he spent most of his secondary school days at the Federal Government College in Ikirun. He also attended Ajegunle Baptist College in Ogbomoso.

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke then proceeded to Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he studied Geography.

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke's journey into athletics, according to him, started during his primary school days. He has been a lover of sports since his primary school days, representing his school during the annual rituals of primary school inter-house competitions in relay races and continuing this passion into secondary school.

He continued to pursue his passion and eventually joined the school athletics team at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife. His parents and school teachers were the first to discover his talent. Thankfully, his interest in sports was nurtured as he was allowed to participate in many events as a child.

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke said, "For instance, in my primary school, I wasn’t arguably the best because there were lots of senior pupils ahead of me. So, for some parts, I trailed before I stood out."

"In my secondary school as well, the same thing happened, but by the time I ran the last race for my secondary school, I was arguably the best sprinter."

"The likes of Alaba Akintola and other guys, whose names I can’t remember now, were all my classmates and colleagues," he added.

Adegoke further added, "When I got admission into OAU, I heard of Seye Ogunlewe and Soji Fasuba. Ogunlewe was the reigning national champion then."

"Along the line, I also heard of Seun Ogunkoya, and they all became part of my inspiration for everything they did then. At OAU, I won so many medals, from NUGA to WAUG, and other inter-collegiate games."

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke shot himself to the limelight in 2019 at a tender age of 19 when he became the African U-20 champion in the 100 meters. Having attended several meets, Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke was anointed to participate in the 2020 Olympics in Japan and also the Commonwealth Games. On both occasions, he emerged among the finalists but missed the podium finish by a whisker due to injury.

It was during the 2018 Commonwealth Games that Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke started his blazing form when he competed in both the 100 meters and the 4x100 meters relay.

In the 100 meters, Adegoke displayed exceptional talent as he won both his heat and semi-final to progress to the final where he finished seventh in a time of 10.35s, his personal best, which was not too bad for a podium finish.

Before going for the Commonwealth, Adegoke in 2018 won the 100m at the Nigerian Commonwealth Games trials in a personal best time of 10.31s.

The trials, which were held in Abuja, saw a seventeen-year-old Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke daze the observers as he entered the final as the fifth fastest athlete behind favorites Seye Ogunlewe and Ogho-Oghene Egwero.

However, Ogunlewe did not start in the final, while Adegoke took the opportunity to secure a spot on the Nigerian team to the games by winning the race, with Egwero placing second.

In his first race outside Nigeria, Adegoke set a personal best of 10.19s in the 100m heats at the Commonwealth Games. He backed up that performance when he returned to win his semi-final race ahead of Henricho Bruintjies, who finished in second place.

Though he finished in 7th place in the final, he had achieved a rich history by being the first home-based athlete in a Commonwealth, World, or Olympic final in over a decade.

In another race of the 4x100 meters relay, Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke was part of a Nigerian team that qualified for the final.

The team, however, failed to finish and was eventually disqualified in the final.

In the same year, Adegoke was named as one of the athletes that represented Nigeria at the World U-20 Athletics Championships, still being in the age bracket.

The Nigerian athletes, however, never left the country as their visas were not ready by the time the event started.

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke then proceeded to represent Nigeria at the 2018 African Championships in the 100m and 4 × 100 m relay. Though he did not run in the final of the 4 × 100 m relay, he helped the team qualify for a place in the final.

The Nigerian team went on to win a silver medal in the event.

With an astonishing record in 2018, Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke in 2019 competed in the U-20 African Championships in Abidjan as one of the favorites for the 100m title.

He won his heat, semifinal races, and the title in a season's best time of 10.29s.

In the 200m, Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke finished off the podium in fourth place. He later anchored the Nigerian team made up of Gershon Omubo, Shedrack Akpeki, Alaba Akintola, and himself to a win in the 4x100 meters relay at the championships.

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke represented Nigeria in the relays at the 2019 World Relays and also at the Doha World Championships.

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke unsurprisingly qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, winning the 100m at the Nigerian Championships in 10.00s.

He bested the clock at 9.97 and crossed the finish line, thinking he had dipped under 10s for the first time, but the official time was rounded up. Nonetheless, excited journalists quickly reported that he had dipped under 10s before the time was confirmed; this was the only time he had dipped beneath the 2020 Olympic standard after being close on previous attempts, clocking 10.06s and a windy 10.05s.

Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke is the current fastest man in Nigeria after beating the likes of Usheoritse Itsekiri and Jerry Jakpa to claim the feat.

He won the 100 meters final at the Nigeria National Sports Festival (Edo 2020) with a time of 10.28s, ahead of teammate Alaba Akintola, who placed second with 10.29s.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Adegoke ran a personal best of 9.98 in his 100m event heat, becoming the eleventh Nigerian sprinter to break the 10-second barrier. He then finished second in his semifinal heat with a time of 10.00s to advance to the final, but in the final, Adegoke pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury and was unable to finish the race.

The injury at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics lingered and almost became an albatross for Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke. Yet, he has picked up the pieces again and is ready to represent Nigeria at the next Olympics in Paris.

Regarding the injury concerns, Adegoke said he remained calm and was looking for the next opportunity to impress.

"At the finals in Tokyo 2020, first, I felt something in my thigh, and I knew I had to stop running."

"In my mind, I felt disappointed, but I’ve always learned about situations you cannot do anything about."

"Grabbing a medal would have been heroic, but I know there will be some more Olympics."

"The Olympics has had a huge impact on me, showing that anything is possible through diligence and with the help of God."

"I went through a lot this year, injuries amidst some other issues. Basically, I was actually injured for most of the season, and I had to deal with a lot of things as well. But thank God I’m fine."

"I know I’ll be back stronger, better by God’s grace," he said.

With Paris 2024 fast approaching, many are waiting to see Enoch Obaloluwa Adegoke dust the track again, maybe this time for a podium finish.

Can Enoch Adegoke do it again at Paris 2024?

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