Funke Oshonaike

Funke Oshonaike in our words

One of the professional female table tennis players from Nigeria, she was born on the 28th of October, 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria.

She attended community primary school Agunbiade, Shomolu, Lagos, where she won a competition for the school and in order to further her professional career she dropped out from school when she was in SSS 1.

She is one of Africa’s most remarkable Olympians: she competed at seven Olympic Games in a row, from Atlanta 1996 to Tokyo 2020, including the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she competed in the women’s singles division.

Seven Olympic Games

Olufunke “Funke” Oshonaike grew up in Shomolu, Lagos, and left school early to chase table tennis. It paid off: she played at seven consecutive Olympic Games, from Atlanta 1996 to Tokyo 2020, becoming the first African woman ever to compete at seven Olympics. Her long career made her a role model for Nigerian girls in sport.