Mary Onyali Nkemdilim Onyali-Omagbami was born February 3, 1968, in Gongola, Adamawa, Nigeria. She weighs 119 lbs (54kg) and her height is 5’ 6’ (168cm).
She is Nigeria sprinter who won the bronze model in 4 x 100 metres relay at the 1992 summer Olympic and 200 metres at the 1996 summer Olympic.
She also won the 1994 commonwealth games. She is married to Victor Omagbemi.
Her father passed away when she was a very young child and her mother was left to raise her and younger siblings, a sister and two brothers.
As the oldest of four children, much of the responsibility of child rising fell strongly upon Mary.
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Her mother constantly emphasized the importance of their education and to her, everything else was just extracurricular.
In elementary school, sports were part of the curriculum and she participated in everything there was Mary participated in the track and field events once she reached high school, and this started to affect her performance in the academic sector.
Her mother taking note of this threatened to discontinue her participation in the sport. Mary would not let this happen to her because she loved sports (track and field) she was determined to do anything to complete, therefore she made her priority to get back her grade back to par.
Inspired by her high school coach who quickly recognized here phenomenal talent, Mary went on to because the team captain of all sporting activity of her school and this made her look at Athletics from a whole different perspective.
Mary was now a very active person in her school inter-house sports, and also representing her school in external games.
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After high school, she continues to run, with hopes that one day she would get news of a college scholarship she completed and won Junior category as a junior and also won, but this was where the beginning of her disappointment came.
Mary continued to track and field once she reached high school; she completed in the long jump and track events and also continues to win.
Her performance was so wonderful that she became the captain of all the sporting activities of her school and started to look at athletics from a whole different perspective.
Mary’s group was always pricked to represent their school and she always comes out on top. After high school, she continued to run, with hopes that one day she would get news of a college scholarship.
By winning the senior category in the 100 and 200 metres was where her first disappointment came.
She was chosen to represent Nigeria in Ghana in 1983 in her first international competition, but that opportunity was stripped from her with the excuse that she was young and did not have enough experience.
She felt she was not taken seriously. After than many opportunities came up.
In 1985, she once again proved that she was in control of the 100 and 200 metres when as a junior, she defeated the senior woman.
Now she was given the opportunity that she so rightly deserved to compete in the African games in Cairo, Egypt, only her second major competition. She moved on to another competition where she placed second to a senior competitor.
In 1986, she went on to compete in the World Junior Championships in Athens Greece and left with a silver medal in the 200 metres. After then, recognition comes from the then Athletic Director of Lagos, Nigeria who is now her father-in-law.
He had maintained a relationship with the administration at Texas Southern University and introduces them to the young woman named Mary Onyali.
When she returned from the African championships in Cairo, Egypt in 1985.
In 1987 will be remembered as Mary’s year of new beginning her most prominent attitude change came in 1988 when she competed in the Olympic Games in Seoul Korea.
She competed in both the 100 and 200 metres she was elated when she made the 200-metre semi-final and found herself in the same heat as Florence Griffith-Joyner and Grace Jackson.
Taking her advice to “do what you do best, the best way you know-how and strive for excellence”. Mary will do just that as she has in the past, and exit with the icing on the cake of a career that she has so graciously perfected.
The social norm for a female in Nigeria was everything but being an athlete. Her traits of self-will and stubbornness found her going against the social norm.
By winning the senior category in the 100 and 200 meters she was chosen to represent Nigeria in Ghana in 1983 in her first international competition but that opportunity was stripped from her with the excuse that she was young and did not have enough experience.
That same year she won a bronze in Atlanta Georgia.
She was delivered of a baby girl in 1997. In 1998 she won the bronze medal at the world cup in the 100 meters and was a gold medalist at the African Championships.
Although not completely healthy and suffering from the hamstring injury that plagued her the year before, she was still on the road to Sydney where she competed in the 100,200 and 4×100 relay which advanced to the final.
This phenomenal woman has set her sights on achieving a world championship medal, the only one missing from her showcase of medals.
Taking her advice to “do what you do best, the way you know-how and strive for excellence”. She did her best, the best way she could.
She once served as the Special Adviser (Technical) to a one-time Director-General of the National Sports Commission in Nigeria. She made a name for herself in the track and field world, establishing several prestigious marks on the way. Popularly called the Queen of Nigerian sprints, Mary continues to hold the Nigerian 200m record, and is still ranked in the top 10 of the collegiate all-time list in both the 100 and 200m.
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