Former Nigerian female sprinter, Mary Onyali who won several medals in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, and other international competitions, in a new interview talked about her marriage and her Olympics memories. 

Here are excerpts from the interview with Mary Onyali below; 

As of the time you became a sportswoman, most parents would not willingly allow their daughters to engage in such. How did your parents react to your career choice?

Sport was popular when I was in high school but it was not something parents allowed their children to do as a career because they did not understand that one could make a career out of it. They did not understand what it took to be a sportsperson and that you could make a living from it. My perseverance helped me to persist and insist that I wanted to be a sportswoman. I was raised by a single mother. I had to convince my mother and uncles beyond reasonable doubts that I wanted to be a sportswoman. I was told by most of my Physical Education teachers, who were from Ghana that I could make a career and life out of it. That was what made me take it more seriously because I knew that being the first child out of four children; my mother would not have been able to fund our education. When I heard that I could be given free education because of my participation in sport, I jumped at the offer. My mother did not understand what I was doing but I thank God that my persistence paid off and now she is proud of me.

Do you think that if you had not married an athlete, you would have got to the top of your career?

I believe so and my marriage is a plus to my career. I believed that if I had got married to someone who was not sport-inclined, a typical African who would want you to have a regular job or stay at home as a mother; it would have been a disaster. There probably would not have been a marriage at the end of the day because during the courtship, I would have sensed that he was not going my direction and something would have ended the relationship.

https://lailasnews.com/if-i-hadnt-married-a-sportsman-my-marriage-wouldve-been-a-disaster-mary-onyali/

oya gbefun,mummy used to be fine sha

She is right

Serena will not lyk this

mm

Good old days when we used to have hope in Olympics,

Quite a motivation! But why is the interview brief... Is this an excerpt?

still looking pretty since 1992

Lucky woman.

I love women who respect their career and their husband. It takes a strong woman to do this. Not this our modern day feminists who dies not even understand the concept but think is all about fighting men.

You have made Nigeria proud...we are proud of you.

Fine woman

I still remember NTA sport advert that year, showing her victory

wow aunty Mary longest time o, igbo Amaka

She fine.thank God that she no marry sunny japan.her career for end for alaba.

Tomibyte:
oya gbefun,mummy used to be fine sha

Bros at her age now from the pic above she is still fine

One of Nigeria’s best if not the best gaan kpaa kpa.

Being as it may be, her beauty and her commitment to her dream would make any reasonable man to stick with her and give her maximum supports.

It's simple, marry who shares the same dream and vision with you.

Beautiful mama. I'm not a sportsman but i would have understood and supported you. Love ladies with focus, goals.

I opened the YouTube app on my phone by mistake, as soon as i closed the app, i got a text from Etisalat "You get luck oo".

9mobile speed is so fast even with just 3g. With 2g sef I could stream short videos.

[b]Marry who you are compactible with [/b]and not some societial pressure to be tagged "Married man" or "MRS" would now push u to go marrying just anyone and end up unhappy all the days of your life... Or comback here on nairaland to be asking kids who have not tasted marriage or couldnt even manage their relationship life for advice

....very humble woman....she was in my office one day I couldn't recollect her face not until it was her turn...when I saw her name I asked"madam and u queued up ? Who does that?" She smiled and said it's the right thing to do...I was ashamed of my self... she however cautioned us to speed up the queue....pretty and well cultured I give it to her.

.

A minister of sport in embryo... Vote for PMB and ur ministerial dream will be actualised

driand:
Good old days when we used to have hope in Olympics,

you can't really blame our new crop of athletes.



Reading the post you'd see where she was offered scholarship for being a good athlete. Tell me what further inspiration an upcoming needs? Back then the military really did well with sports. Coaches and athletes were well taken care of and paid on time.


These democracy and politicians came to wreck everything.


Have you heard anything from Olusoji Fasuba who used to be the fastest man in Africa?

please guys what kind of business can one start up with 2m naira that will yield good profits??

If you wanna see another advantage of her doing sports, take a look at her age mates.

Some will look like her mother.

yep! u are absolutely rite...

u rite buh it's good being an athlete

Reminds me of what happened in my villa yesterday morning.

They organised a marathon to mark the new yam festival. See hefty babes and guys with akpobi ready to grab the price. Medalists from various competitions from across the country participated...Well kitted in their sports wear. In fact the bigger runners almost chased away the children and teenagers they saw standing by to compete as well.

Brothers and sisters what we saw at the the finish line continues to amaze me. It was as if only virgins were allowed to enter the first three.

The winner for females turned out to be 15 and for the male, 11 years. Infcat after the girl winner, we waited for almost 30minutes for the second, another teenager to arrive. The big girls started arriving from 7th position.

I'm told that these children were fond of competing among themselves, running up and down mountains.

Is she trying to say we must marry from our chosen profession?