If I were to ask you what comes to mind when you think of the West-African nation of Niger, the answer would for the majority of you be probably “not a lot”. A former French colony that gained its independence in 1958, Niger is not exactly prime rowing real-estate. The county is landlocked, has no rowing lakes, and up until recently had no rowing clubs. So why would one dedicate an article to them in a rowing publication?
To answer that question, let us return to 2012 and the men’s singles competition held at Eton Dorney. As part of an effort to diversify entries from non-traditional rowing nations, organisers decided to award two wildcards. One went to Monegasque sculler Mattias Raymond and the other to a thirty-five year old gardener and former swimming pool attendant Dijibou Issaka.
Issaka and Raymond were selected by the International Olympic Committee Tripartite Commission, an organisation which selects athletes from traditionally underrepresented nations at the Olympic Games in order to improve universality. Raymond had competed for Monaco at Beijing 2008, where he had been the flag bearer and was an established rower in international competitions. Issaka, on the other hand, had never set foot in a boat until three months before the games. He’d never rowed in a single. He’d never rowed full stop.
Having been thrust into the spotlight, Issaka was dispatched, first to Tunisa and Egypt to master the basics for two months, and then finally to the Belgium rowing capital of Hazelwinkle. Even so, when Issaka rocked up to Eton Dorney, you could forgive him for perhaps feeling a little inexperienced, especially when he was lined up against a certain Mahe Drsydale in his first heat.
Issaka’s inclusion has also had pushback from established figures like Sir Steve Redgrave, who went so far as to write a letter to governing body FISA to complain about the fact that there were “better scullers from different countries who are not allowed to compete because of the different countries you’ve got”. Issaka finished dead last in his opening heat and in every other subsequent race, with his opening time of 8:25.56, finishing over a minute and a half behind the heat winner Drysdale. He eventually finishing last in the F final of the event.
Whilst not the Disney fairytale he might have imagined, what Issaka managed to do with just three months training should be celebrated as an example of sheer dogged determination. Rowing is a sport that often, despite it egalitarian ambitions, is restricted to the wealthy nations. Although Issaka is rather an extreme example, his story demonstrates the power of simply allowing a competitor from one of the world’s poorest countries to compete on rowing’s biggest stage.
In the three Olympics since 2012, there have been at least two scullers on both the men’s and women’s events that have competed through places awarded by the Tripartite Commission, with notable results including Quentin Antongnelli’s first place in the in the C-final at the 2020 Games. This alone proves that, given the opportunity, scullers and athletes from smaller nations can compete on the world stage. It is a testament to the power of individual determination in sport to find one’s own success, despite overwhelming odds. For that, we have Dijibou Issakka to thank.
