In a historic first for the continent, Nigeria’s Simidele Adeagbo and Kewe King took to the ice on Sunday, 23 November 2025, at Italy’s famed Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre, becoming the first African women’s pair ever to compete in an International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup race. Their World Cup debut was hailed as a “groundbreaking moment in global winter sports” for Nigeria and Africa. Although facing a field of seasoned sledders, the Nigerian duo completed both heats on the challenging Cortina track and finished 25th overall. (Germany’s Olympic champion Laura Nolte took the win in that race.) The primary goal for Adeagbo and King was to gain experience and put Nigeria firmly on the world bobsleigh map, and by completing the race they earned valuable World Cup points and acclaim at home.
Significance for Nigeria and Africa
Adeagbo’s participation adds to a legacy of “firsts” for Nigeria on ice. A 44-year-old former hurdler, Adeagbo became Nigeria’s first Winter Olympian in 2018 when she competed in skeleton, making her “the first African woman to compete in Olympic skeleton.” She later switched to bobsleigh, even winning an international monobob race, another continental first. Paired with King, the duo “are believed to have become Africa’s first ever two-woman bobsleigh team” on the World Cup circuit. Their breakthrough has been celebrated as a major step forward: as one report noted, the pair’s debut “signals renewed ambition, progression, and visibility for African athletes on the global winter sports stage. For Nigerian sports fans, seeing Team Nigeria reach this level in a Winter World Cup event has generated pride and excitement.
The Road to Bobsleigh
The story of how Adeagbo and King came together is itself remarkable. Adeagbo, a veteran of multiple sports, had been training in monobob and two-woman bobsleigh for the past two years. In mid-2025 she put out a call seeking a “Nigerian brakewoman,” which is how King, a 28-year-old former British Army track athlete with a Nigerian mother, joined the team. King recalled: “Simi had a little advertisement in the Army athletics group chat I’m in that said she’s looking for a brakewoman who has a Nigerian passport… I thought, “That sounds like a really good opportunity.” The pair have since been training across Europe (recently spending weeks running sleds on dry land in Germany) to hone their push and start together. King says she loves the thrills of the sport: “To me, it’s like a roller coaster, but you don’t have a seatbelt… you just have to hold yourself in,” she explained, capturing the adrenaline rush of hurtling down an ice track.
Looking ahead, Adeagbo and King have their sights on even bigger goals. They are training hard to qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, where the bobsleigh events will be held on the same Cortina track they tackled this weekend. For now, Nigerian fans will celebrate that Team Nigeria’s icy debut has been a success, a proud milestone and inspiration for winter athletes across Africa.
