Nigeria’s
Jonathan "Johny" Akinyemi has been voted the February ICF Athlete of
the Month. A gold medallist at the 2012 African Canoe Slalom Championships in
South Africa, Akinyemi went head to head with Beijing bronze medallist Benjamin
Boukpeti (TOG) and retained his K1 title, thereby securing Africa’s sole K1
spot at the London 2012 Olympic Games. “It’s just absolutely incredible and
I’ve not stopped smiling since I won the race. I wake up at night and after
about ten seconds remember that I’ve qualified for the Olympics and I just laugh
out loud. I’m just so happy.
Akinyemi, who
holds a degree in Theology and is currently studying Accounting in university,
received 55% of the votes in a poll that saw an unprecedented number of
visitors access the ICF website to vote. Poland’s Marcin Pochwala and Piotr Szczepanski came in a close 2nd place.
“Good news....I won ICF athlete of the month! Thanks for the votes everyone.
#TeamNigeria,” tweeted the 23-year-old after the results came through.
Akinyemi who has
a British mother and a Nigerian father grew up in Warrington 12 years old
started Canoeing at his local canoeing club. Inspired by the achievements of
Paul Ratcliffe (GBR) who won silver in the K1 event at the Sydney 2000 Olympic
Games, he gave up his place at the top
of the British canoe rankings to compete for Nigeria, his father's home
country, after a first visit to Nigeria in 2007.
Launched in
2009, the ICF Athlete of the Month initiative is designed to recognize the
outstanding performances of paddlers from all over the world.
