Uche Eke missed the chance to qualify for the quarter-finals in the gymnastics event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Saturday.
He was competing in the men’s all-around artistic gymnastics event and placed 36th with a score of 74.765, which was not enough for a place in the last eight.
The 23-year-old was Nigeria’s first and only gymnastics representative at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
Eke was raised in the US, but he’s been traveling to Nigeria every year since he was three to visit his father’s village. Inspired by the sense of community he felt during his visits, he knew he wanted to give back — the only question was how.
Like many kids, Eke grew up doing flips on the trampoline in his babysitter’s backyard, but he wouldn’t stop when trampoline time was over. He started doing backflips off his couch, landing on his head each time, until his mom decided to put him in a gymnastics class. Eke excelled and was eventually recruited to the University of Michigan, one of the top collegiate programs for men’s gymnastics.
When Eke arrived at Michigan, he told his head coach, Kurt Golder, that he wanted to compete in the Olympics. Since Eke has dual citizenship, Golder suggested that he represent Nigeria in what would become a historic moment for the country.
