Team Nigeria’s trio of Ese Brume, Ruth Usoro, and Prestina Ochonogor have qualified for the women’s long jump final at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
This feat marks the first time that three Nigerian athletes will compete in the final of the long jump event at the Olympic Games.
The trio will contend with nine other athletes for medals in the final, set to take place on Wednesday. Brume, the African record holder, clinched automatic qualification with a jump of 6.76m. African Games gold medallist Usoro followed with a mark of 6.68m, while Ochonogor secured her place with a jump of 6.65m.
In the qualifiers, Usoro set the pace in the first round, hitting a huge foul near 7 meters, while Brume managed 6.44m and Ochonogor, in her first major championship, achieved 6.29m. In the second round, Usoro jumped 6.68m to take the lead, and Ochonogor soared to 6.65m.
Brume, needing a strong final attempt, delivered a jump of 6.76m to meet the automatic qualification mark.
The achievement is a testament to the strength and depth of Nigerian long jumpers, and the nation will be eagerly anticipating the final to see if they can claim a podium finish.
The last time Nigeria had multiple athletes in an Olympic athletics final was in 1996 when Falilat Ogunkoya and Fatimat Yusuf competed in the women’s 400m.
