Top 10 Nigerian sportswomen of the year

For years, Nigerian Women have been carrying the touch in sports and 2016 was not different.

In the year under review, we take a look at the women who made Nigeria proud in their respective sports.

1. Asisat Oshoala (Football)

Asisat Oshola remains the face of Women’s football in Nigeria and also a huge year in 2016 starting with his big transfer from LiverpoolLadies to Arsenal Ladies.

Oshoala won two titles in 2016, the Women’s FA Cup with Arsenal Ladies and the Africa Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

She ends the year with a nomination in the CAF Women's Player of the Year category of the 2016 GLO-CAF Awards.

She makes her second appearance on the Pulse List 2016 (10 Nigeria's sportspersons of the year)

2. Florence Omagbemi (Football)

Former Nigeria international was appointed as coach of the Super Falcons in early 2016 and it took her less than a year to win her first title.

Omagbemi led the Super Falcons to the 2016 AWCON title in Cameroon.

With that title, she became the first woman to win the AWCON as a player and a coach. Florence won the AWCON on four occasions in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004.

She rounded up 2016 with a nomination in the CAF Coach of the Year award category.

This is also her second appearance on the Pulse List 2016 (Top 3 Nigerian football coaches of the year)

3. Chierika Ukogu (Rowing)

Chierika Ukogu represented Nigeria in the Women’s Singles Sculls event at Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Ukogu, who is the first Nigerian to represent the country in rowing, is a graduate of Stanford University and trained with the US team before the Olympics.

The 24-year-old impressed at the Olympics, finishing second in Final D of Women’s Singles Sculls event.

Sadly that didn’t give her a medal as her time of finish 7:44.76 meant she finished 20th in the overall final result.

This is her second appearance on the Pulse List 2016 (10 Nigeria's sportspersons of the year).

4. Desire Oparanozie (Football)

When it got tough for the Super Falcons, Desire Oparanozie stepped up and rescued them.

Oparanozie scored Super Falcons winning goals in the semi-final and final of the 2016 AWCON.

5. Ejike Lucy (Powerlifting)

Nigerian Paralympic powerlifter, Lucy represented Nigeria at her fifth consecutive Paralympic Games.

She won gold in the Women's -61 kg, of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.

6. Onye Laurita (Shot-put)

Laurita Onye is part of Team Nigeria that made the country the first in Africa at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.

Laurita won gold in the F40 shot put.

7. Nwosu Ndidi (Powerlifting)

Ndidi Nwosu won gold in the powerlifting event of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. She lifted 140 kilogrammes in Women’s -73 kg.

8. Omolayo Bose (Powerlifting)

Bose Omolayo broke her own World Record and set a new one of 138kg to win a gold medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

9. Josephine Orji (Powerlifting)

Josephine Orji won a gold medal in women powerlifting's +86 kg category for Nigeria at the Rio Paralympics Games.

10. Flora Ugwunwa (Javelin)

Flora set a new world record in the women’s javelin – F54 event at the Rio Paralympics to win gold for Nigeria.

She recorded a throw of 20.25m after six attempts to win the gold medal.