Mary Onyali-Omagbemi
Mary Onyali - Omagbemi ( born Onyali; born February 3, 1968) is a Nigerian sprinter. She was 1992 Olympic bronze medalist with the 4 x 100 - meter relay and 1996 in the 200 -meter run.
Life
She has made through their sporting successes in their home country a name, where it is called the " Nigerian queen of the sprint ." She grew up in a family without a father, who had left them with her mother and three younger siblings, for which they had to make during her youth, when the mother went to work. This also laid great emphasis on a good education for Mary. This began in college, to be interested in sports, mainly long and high jump.
After the transfer to the high school, she expanded her athletic interests. Of the social norms of early marriage and family, she wanted to know nothing, because they necessarily wanted to study. Since her family but was not able to finance her studies, she decided to study a sports scholarship in the United States. At the Junior Championships in Nigeria showed acceptable performance, but failed twice in a row at international appearances. Upon her return, this sporty Director of Lagos, her father realized today, their disposition and gave her a scholarship from the University of Texas, where she studied from 1985 to 1990.
In the 200 - meter race of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, she could not qualify for the finals despite a time of 22.52 s. Only in 1989 it was able to hold in international competitions and won in 1991 at the Pan-African Games gold medal in the 100 -meter run.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona she could over 100 m and 200 m from penetrating into the medals, but won the bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m relay together with teammates Beatrice Utondu, Faith Idehen and Christy Opara Thompson. At the World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart in 1993, they were each fifth in the 100 and 200 meters at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg she won seventh place on 100 m and the sixth over 200 m.
In February 1996 Onyali was tested positive for ephedrine and banned for three months. In the summer he succeeded at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, about 200 meters to win the bronze medal, behind Marie -José Perec (FRA) and Merlene Ottey (JAM ).
After a maternity leave she took part in the Summer Olympic Games in 2000 and part 2004 Summer Olympics, but failed already in the heats.
Today she runs with her husband Victor Omagbemi, the African champion in 1992 in the 100 and 200 m, a shop in Lagos. She is also an ambassador for the athlete development organization Right to Play.