Omoba ''Oba'' ('King' in the Yoruba language, Yoruba language) is a pre-nominal honorific for kings in Yorubaland. Traditional rulers with dynasties of Yoruba origin, across the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria, and Togo, frequently make use of it. ...

Adegboyega Folaranmi Adedoyin,

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

(11 September 1922 – 31 January 2014) was a

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n-born

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

er and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er, who became the first Nigerian to compete in an

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

final in 1948, when representing Great Britain.

Personal life

He was born in

Sagamu Sagamu or Ishagamu is an agglomeration of thirteen towns in southwestern Nigeria. It is located in Ogun State along the Ibu River and Eruwuru Stream between Lagos and Ibadan. It was founded in the mid 19th century by members of the Remo bra ...

Ogun Ogun or Ogoun ( Yoruba: Ògún, Edo: Ògún, Portuguese: Ogum, Gu; also spelled Oggun or Ogou; known as Ogún or Ogum in Latin America) is a Yoruba Orisha that is adopted in several African religions. Ògún is a warrior and a powerful spi ...

, and was a son of the Akarigbo, or king, of the

Remo people The Remo people are a distinct subgroup of the Yoruba ethnic group in Nigeria, primarily residing in the Remo region of Ogun State. They are known for their rich cultural traditions, distinct dialect, and contributions to the socio-economic land ...

William Adedoyin HRM Oba William Christopher Adedoyin (died 1952) was a Nigerian traditional Oba (ruler), ruler who held the title of Akarigbo of Remo, Akarigbo of Remo Kingdom from 1916 to 1952. The Akarigbo's seat was in Sagamu, part of Remo Kingdom, a Yoruba p ...

. He came to the United Kingdom in 1942 to study at

Queen's University of Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, where he graduated in medicine in 1949.

Athletics career

He won the

1947 AAA Championships The 1947 AAA Championships was the 1947 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 18 to 19 July 1947 at White City Stadium in London, England. Summary The ...

at the

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

in the high jump with a clearance of 1.93 metres. Adedoyin featured in a 1947 newsreel by

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as "British Pathé". I ...

focusing on university sports. In the footage, he is described as 'a good bet to represent Britain at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

'. He went on to compete for the Great Britain team in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

, both in the

and the

. In the high jump, on 30 July, he qualified for the final, as one of 20 competitors who made it past the qualifying round, where a height of 1.87 metres was needed to qualify. The sheer number of competitors in the high jump meant that the event seemed endless. In the final he jumped 1.90 metres on his third attempt to come twelfth – if he had cleared it on his first attempt he could have finished as high as sixth. A day later in the long jump, he qualified by virtue of placing in the top twelve in the qualifying round as less than twelve athletes reached the qualifying distance of 7.20 metres, with only five reaching it in the final. Adedoyin was one of these, placing fifth with a jump of 7.27 metres. His personal best jumps were 1.969 metres in the high jump (1949) and 7.35 metres in the long jump (1947).

Life after athletics

After the Olympics, he went back to Nigeria to practise as an

obstetrician-gynaecologist Obstetrics and gynaecology (also spelled as obstetrics and gynecology; abbreviated as Obst and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...

. He died on 31 January 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adedoyin, Adegboyega Folaranmi 1922 births 2014 deaths Nigerian male long jumpers Nigerian male high jumpers English male long jumpers British male long jumpers English male high jumpers British male high jumpers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics People from Sagamu Sportspeople from Ogun State Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Royal Olympic participants 20th-century English sportsmen 20th-century Nigerian sportsmen

Personal life

Athletics career

Life after athletics

See also

References

External links