Akinyemi, whose father John is Nigerian and mother Heather is British, had been part of the youth set up in the UK until he visited family in Lagos five years ago.
It was there that he was persuaded to represent Nigeria, and with the prospect of competing at London 2012, the offer was too good to turn down.
Akinyemi finished 21st out of 22 competitors in the K1, with the top 15 going through.
It's been a real privilege to have been given the opportunity to represent Nigeria at the Olympics.
His best time of 104 seconds was 17 seconds off the pace after he hit four gates in the first run and incurred a 50-second penalty in his second run for missing a gate altogether.
However, he admitted that the experience of the Games was one he would never forget.
He said: 'It's been a real privilege to have been given the opportunity to represent Nigeria at the Olympics.
'I have had the full support of everyone in Nigeria. It was a bit of a shame not to get a better result, but I really enjoyed it.'
Related content
- Athletes
- Sports
- Countries
