|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Summary
Nigerian athletes Simidele Adeagbo and Kewe King made history as Africa’s first 2-woman bobsleigh team to compete at the IBSF World Cup on November 23, 2025, in Italy. They finished 25th, marking a landmark moment for Nigeria in winter sports.
Nigerian athletes Simidele Adeagbo and Kewe King have made history by becoming the first African 2-woman bobsleigh team to compete at the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup.
The pair competed on November 23, 2025, at the prestigious Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Simidele and Kewe finished 25th with 40 points in a race won by Germany’s Olympic and World champion Laura Nolte, who secured victory with her brakewoman Deborah Levi. Laura now leads the overall standings for the 2025/2026 IBSF World Cup with 225 points, ahead of the USA’s Kaysha Love and Kaillie Armbruster Humphries.
Despite placing outside the podium, the duo’s achievement was celebrated by the National Sports Commission, as their participation marks a new chapter for Nigeria in winter sports. Their historic race follows a series of milestones by Simidele, who earlier this year secured two top-25 finishes in the women’s monobob at the St. Moritz World Cup.
Simidele Adeagbo, a former triple jumper, has been a trailblazer since becoming active in sliding sports in 2017. She made history at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, becoming Nigeria and Africa’s first female skeleton athlete. In 2022, she became the first African athlete to win an international sledge race after clinching the women’s monobob at the EuroCup.
Her partnership with Kewe King now extends that legacy, solidifying their place as pioneers for African athletes in winter sports and inspiring a new generation to step into competitions traditionally dominated by colder-climate nations.
