Sam Ikpefan has made history as the first Nigerian to participate in two Winter Olympic Games.
The 33-year-old placed 65th in the men’s cross-country sprint classic qualification event on Tuesday.
He is Nigeria’s only athlete at the Winter Olympics currently taking place in Milan-Cortina, Italy.
Ikpefan recorded a time of 3:33.31, falling short of a quarter-final berth, which is limited to the top 30 competitors.
He is scheduled to feature in the men’s 10km freestyle cross-country skiing event on Friday.
This marks his second straight Olympic appearance, having previously represented Nigeria at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
At the Beijing Games, he finished 73rd in the men’s sprint free before pulling out of the 15km classic race after testing positive for COVID-19.
Nigeria first competed at the Winter Olympics in 2018.
Ikpefan was born in the French Alps to a French mother and a Nigerian father from Edo State.
Though he competed for France at youth level, he switched allegiance to Nigeria in 2018 after securing a Nigerian passport and has since represented the country at the World Cup and World Championships.
Nigeria has not yet secured a medal at the Winter Olympics.