Ruth Usoro has become the latest Nigerian athlete to qualify for the 2023 World Championships after setting a new personal best of 6.87 meters in the Long Jump at the Texas Tech Open & Multi Meet on January 27th.
In her first track meet as a post-collegiate athlete after finishing a fantastic career at Texas Tech University, she executed an impressive series of jumps in route to her 1st place finish. Her second jump of 6.78 meters and her fourth jump of 6.73 meters was a sign that something even bigger was coming. Then on her fifth jump she leaped to 6.87 meters, the best Long Jump of her career, indoor or outdoor.
This mark is tied for the 2nd furthest Nigerian and African Indoor Long Jump of all-time sharing the spot with Blessing Okagbare and is 0.1 meters behind Chioma Ajunwa's Nigerian and African record of 6.97 meters set in 1997.
This effort is not just a personal best, but it is also the furthest indoor Long Jump mark in the world in 2023 so far. Most importantly Usoro has earned an automatic placement into the World Championships in Budapest later this year. The automatic qualifying standard for the Women's Long Jump is 6.85 meters and surpassing the standard, either indoors or outdoors, earns an athlete a spot. This makes her the 6th Nigerian athlete to automatically qualify for the upcoming World Championships in an individual event.
Usoro was a finalist at the 2022 World Championships in the Long Jump and she also competed in the Triple Jump at the same championships. She is a talented athlete that is capable of qualifying for both events once again this season. She has mentioned that she will hope to continue competing in both and as the year progresses she could look to not only improve her Long Jump marks but look to qualify for the Triple Jump as well.
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