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FLASHBACK: HAKEEM OLAJUWON WINS OLYMPIC GOLD WITH US DREAM TEAM

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On the same 2 August 1996 date that Chioma Ajunwa won gold in Long Jump at the Olympic Games, Nigeria-born Hakeem Olajuwon was a member of the gold-winning Team USA in the Basketball event.

The American team defeated Yugoslavia 95-69 to win the gold and followed the footsteps of their predecessors – the 1992 Dream Team.

Led by Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens, the team — which featured five players from the original Dream Team (Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Charles Barkley) as well as Reggie Miller, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Grant Hill, Mitch Richmond and Penny Hardaway — cruised through the competition en route to a perfect 8-0 record, with wins by an average margin of 32.3 points.

In one of the more recognized moments in USA Basketball history, the team presented Muhammad Ali with a gold medal during halftime of the gold medal game to replace the one from 1960 that he lost.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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