Sunday Bada (22 June 1969 – 12 December 2011) was a Nigerian sprinter who specialized in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

event. He won three medals at the World Indoor Championships, including a gold medal in 1997. His personal best time was 44.63 seconds, and with 45.51 seconds indoor he holds the African indoor record. He set a national record in the

4 x 400 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest co ...

at the 2000 Olympics, where the Nigerian team also won gold medals after the disqualification of the US.

Early career

Bada was born in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nig ...

to parents from Ogidi,

Kogi Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to th ...

State. He broke through at the regional level in 1990, with bronze medals in both 200 and 400 metres at the 1990 African Championships. The next year, at the 1991 All-Africa Games, he won a silver in the 400 metres. He competed without reaching the final in the

of the 1992 Olympics, but in the

he managed to finish fifth with the Nigerian team. The same year he broke the 45-second barrier by running the 400 m in 44.99 seconds, in September in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. This happened at the 1992 IAAF World Cup, an event he won. Bada became Nigerian 400 metres champion in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2001. He also participated in, and won, the Indian championships in 1994.

World championships

Bada made his definite breakthrough in 1993, when he won the silver medal at the World Indoor Championships. In the same year he finished fifth at the 1993 World Championships. In the World Championships final he clocked in 44.63 seconds, the second fastest time ever by a Nigerian sprinter, after Innocent Egbunike's 44.17 s. In 1994 he added almost a second to his season's best, running in 45.55 seconds in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word ...

. The season highlight was a bronze medal at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

. In 1995, however, he gained his second silver medal at the World Indoor Championships whereas at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

he finished eighth. In the 1995 World Championships relay he won a bronze medal together with teammates Udeme Ekpeyong, Kunle Adejuyigbe and Jude Monye. Finally, at the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa ( ...

he won the 200 metres and took the 400 m silver. He ran 44.83 seconds as a season's best in 1995; then 44.88 in 1996. At the 1996 Olympics he reached the final in neither

400 __NOTOC__ Year 400 ( CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year ...

nor the

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated swit ...

. In the 1996–97 indoor season he achieved his best result with a gold medal at the World Indoor Championships. He ran in 45.51 seconds, a life best performance indoor, and also the African indoor record for the event. However, Bada just barely managed to improve this time during the outdoor season, with 45.37 seconds, and would never run a sub-45 race again. In individual competitions he was successively eliminated before the final of the 1997 World Championships, the 1999 World Indoor Championships, the 1999 World Championships, the 2000 Olympic Games, the

2001 World Indoor Championships The 8th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Pavilhão Atlântico in Lisbon, Portugal from March 9 to March 11, 2001. It was the first time the Championships had been held in Portugal. There were a total number of 511 pa ...

and 2001 World Championships. A highlight in these years was the 4 x 400 m relay at the 2000 Olympics, where the Nigerian team won silver medals, later upgraded to gold after the disqualification of the US. Nigeria also established a national record time of 2:58.68 minutes.

Post-active career

Bada retired following the 2001 season. After his active career Bada was the technical director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria. He died in December 2011 at the

National Stadium, Lagos The Lagos National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria, which comprises an Olympic-size swimming arena and a multipurpose arena used for athletics, rugby, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, wrestling and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bada, Sunday 1969 births 2011 deaths Nigerian male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Nigeria Olympic gold medalists for Nigeria Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Sportspeople from Kaduna World Athletics Championships medalists Yoruba sportspeople Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Nigeria African Games gold medalists for Nigeria African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1995 All-Africa Games World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games