By Yemi Babalola Lagos, Nigeria
When sprinting became a major sporting competition where the flag of Nigeria was represented across the world. The name Mary Onyali immediately comes to mind as one fondly remembers. She made a name for herself in the track and field world, being one of the major pacesetters of athletics in Nigeria she is the amazon we would be examining today.
Popularly known as Mary Onyalli, though now Mary Onyali-Omagbemi was born in the year 1968 on February 3 in Gongola, Adamawa, Nigeria. She lost her father at a young age and she is the first of four children including a sister and two brothers.
Mary picked interest in track and field events from an early age and performed for her high school. She competed in the long jump, high jump and track events where she won laurels for her school and groomed her competitive steak to desire more from these events. However, she did not have the support of her mother as at this time as her mother felt her interest in sport was hindering her academic pursuits and at some points threatened to stop her from continuing. With the help of her Coach in the school who helped her overcome the lapses and this saw Mary, become the team captain.
In 1985, Mary started her competitive professional career after having suffered series of disappointment due to her being young and claims of inexperience. Having showed that ability sometimes defeats experience she got her first call up eventually. She competed at the All African Games in 1986, which was hosted in Cairo, Egypt, not used to the professional track field, as she never trained on such surface before; Mary false-started twice and got disqualified. She redeemed herself in the 200 meters where she won silver medal only losing to a senior competitor.
This built her as Mary went on to compete at her first major international competition and that was the World Junior Championships held in Athens, Greece. Where she won Silver medal in the 200 meters race losing only to compatriot Falilat Ogunkoya. Mary also won Bronze medal in the 4×100 meters relay alongside compatriots Tina Iheagwam, Caroline Nwajei and Falilat Ogunkoya.
Mary’s development in year 1987, which many consider as the start of her greatness on the track, she had a disappointing performance in Indianapolis, United States World Indoor Championships that year. She did not get deterred as she prepared for the All African Games held in Nairobi, Kenya that year and won Bronze and silver medal in the 100 meters and 200 meters respectively.
After suffering some disappointment on the track, in 1989, at the IAAF World Cup in Athletics in Barcelona Spain, she won silver medals in both the 100 and 200 meters respectively. Making her and Falilat Ogunkoya the only female Africans to appear on the medals list for the competition.
This feat continued into the 1991 All-African Games in Cairo Egypt she came first in the 100 meters race for women. A competition that saw Nigeria being overall medals table winners. The following year after undergoing a feet surgery, she went for the 1992 Olympics Games held that year in Barcelona, Spain she could only scoop a bronze medal in the 4×100 meter relay race, alongside compatriots Beatrice Utondu, Faith Idehen and Christy Opara-Thompson.
At the Commonwealth Games of 1994 held in Victoria Canada, Mary had a good outing as she won the 100m race, won Silver in the 200 meters race and won the 4×100 meters relay alongside compatriots Faith Idehen, Mary Tombiri and Christy Opara-Thompson. That same year at the IAAF World Cup in Athletics held at the Crystal Palace National Sports Center in London. She won Bronze medal in the 100 meters race and won Gold medal in the 4×100 meters relay once again alongside Faith Idehen, Mary Tombiri and Christy Opara-Thompson.
Mary at the 1995 all African games of Harare, Zimbabwe won gold medals in both 100 and 200 meters races. This feat boosted her confidence heading into the 1996 Olympics Games but tragedy struck as she was tested positive of Ephedrine, which happened to be one of the banned substances for athletes. This happened five months to the Olympics and she was placed on three months suspension, which was a blow to her Olympics preparation. Due to supports from her husband and coach Mr. Tobias Igwe, she was able to keep on.
Atlanta 1996 is one Olympics no sport loving Nigeria would ever forget as the men’s football team, Chioma Ajunwa, Mary Onyali and Falilat Ogunkoya amongst the others brought smiles to many Nigerians faces. Despite the setback months before the Olympics for Mary, she went on to win the Bronze medal in the 200 meters race.
Mary took a break from the track in 1997 to welcome her first child with her husband, only to return at the IAAF World Cup held in Johannesburg South Africa, where she won bronze medal in the 100 meters race. After which she participated in other racing events without much medals, until the 2003 all African games held at home in Nigeria where she scooped the Gold medals of both 100 and 200 meters races. She was at the 2004 Olympics Games in Athens Greece but was knocked out at the quarterfinals stage of the 200 meters race.
This was her last competitive event as a professional sprint athlete. In 1996, she was awarded the women’s 200 meters best year performance alongside France’s Marie-Jose Perec. After setting a personal best record of 22.07 race time. She has been quoted many times as saying her most prestigious award is the Bronze medal in the 200 meter final from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mary is married to Victor Omagbemi, a former athlete who competed for Nigeria. Mary is a proud mother of two children and she currently serves as a Special Adviser (Technical) to the Director General of the National Sports Commission in Nigeria. In addition, she is a part of the consultation committee for the proposed Sports University of Nigeria, Idumuje-Ugboko, Delta state, Nigeria.
Mary Onyali-Omagbemi is fond of saying, “do what you do best, the best way you know how and strive for excellence”. That is the lesson to be leant from the professional career of Mary Onyali-Omagbemi.
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