- Three Nigerian women, Usoro, Brume, and Ochonogor, made history by qualifying for the women’s long jump final at the Olympics
- Brume’s final jump of 6.76m secured her spot, while Usoro and Ochonogor also delivered impressive performances in their rounds
Team Nigeria achieved an unprecedented feat as three Nigerian women qualified for the final of the women’s long jump yesterday for the first time in the history of the games.
Usoro set the momentum in the first round with a huge foul in the region of 7 meters. Brume managed 6.44m in the first round, while Ochonogor, in her first major championship, achieved 6.29m.
In the next round, Usoro hit the board with room to spare, breaking the sand at 6.68m (1.4) to take the lead. Inspired by Usoro’s performance, Ochonogor soared to 6.65m in the second round, moving into second place in her qualification group.
Brume managed only 6.40m in the second round and, with just one attempt left, was outside both the automatic qualification mark of 6.75m and the top 12 finish needed to reach the final. However, the hugely experienced African record holder drew on her years of experience, charging down the runway and hitting 6.76m on her final jump to qualify for the final.
Brume became the first athlete to win four long jump titles in African Championship history, claiming the crown three times consecutively in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
The last time Nigeria had more than one athlete in an Athletics Olympic final was in 1996 when Falilat Ogunkoya and Fatimat Yusuf both made the women’s 400m final in Atlanta.