Blessing Oboru-dudu had to settle for the silver medal in the women’s freestyle 68kg event on Tuesday in the Tokyo Olympics wrestling competition in Tokyo.
This was after she failed to overcome Tamyra Mensah-Stock of the U.S., who had beaten her three times earlier, after losing 1-4 in their final match at the Makuhari Mess Hall.
The medal was Nigeria’s first one ever in the wrestling sport since the country’s first-ever appearance at the Olympics in 1952.
Mensah-Stock scored two points a minute in before Oborududu was able to earn a point after escaping the takedown.
The event’s number one seed then earned what would be the last points of the match scoring two points on a second takedown with three and a half minutes to go.
The 32-year-old African champion had on Monday fought her way through to the final by beating three opponents from the round of 16 stage.
The competition’s number two seed beat Elis Manolova of Azerbaijan 13-2 to advance to the quarter-finals, where she beat Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan 3-2.
In the semi-finals, she overcame Battsetseg Soronzonbold of Mongolia 7-2, her conqueror at the 2016 Games in Athens, to advance into Tuesday’s final.