It was not just an ordinary day for Kemi Mustapha at the University of Lagos sports complex. Aside from being her birthday last Wednesday, Kemi also made her university proud by keeping the hope and trust of thousands of University of Ilorin (Unilorin) students winning Gold at the Discus event.

Kemi is a student from Human Kinetics at Unilorin won the gold medal in the women’s discus throw with a distance of 38.13m at the FASU 2024 games.

She clinched gold with just five throws out of eight to defeat Belinda Owusu from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, who won silver with a distance of 37.04m while Rukaya Sumaila of the University of Ghana won bronze with a distance of 33.55m.

Kemi stated that her drive to excel stemmed from a desire to make her family proud.

“The zeal to make a name for my family and community and the country proud,” she said.

She added, that “commitment and passion” has been the motivating factor for her in combining sports and academics.

“To be honest, it hasn’t been easy. Participating in sports deals with passion and commitment, and education is a necessity and I’ve been able to find balance for both.”

The Student who missed the World University Games last year in China confirmed that her next target is to focus on next season.

Written by Jimmy Jackson, Media Volunteer