The Nigerian women’s jump contingent has been on a serious uptick over the last few years, and 2024 is off to an remarkable start. Ruth Usoro, the reigning National Champion in the Long Jump, has become the first Nigerian field athlete to officially qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. She won the Women’s Long Jump event at the Jarvis Scott Open Meet in Texas, USA with a leap of 6.87 meters this past Friday, which surpassed the 6.86 meters automatic qualification standard. This jump is currently the farthest jump in the world and ties her personal best which she achieved last season at the same indoor facility. The Texas Tech-alum has now qualified for back-to-back Olympic Games after she achieved the qualifying standard for both the Long Jump and Triple Jump for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
African Record Holder, Ese Brume, has had a glowing start to her 2024 campaign as well. After opening her season with a 3rd place finish at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix with a modest 6.58-meter jump, she bounced back nicely at the Howie Ryan Invitational Meet (also in Texas) jumping an impressive 6.84 meters to get the win. After suffering an injury she was only able to jump above 6.8 meters in two meets in 2023, once at the World Athletics Championships where she finished 4th overall and the other at the Diamond League final where she finished in 2nd place. It is encouraging to see Brume in this good form this early in the season as she looks to qualify for her 3rd Olympic Games and grab another medal.
On home soil, another female jumper has blossomed into a force that will be recognized very soon. Prestina Ochonogor, a 17-year-old from Delta state, achieved an incredible personal best jump of 6.66 meters to win the Dynamic Athletics Outdoor Meet in Lagos on January 27th. That mark is currently the farthest among U20 female jumpers in the world. She followed up that performance with another win at the AFN Evaluation Meet in Abuja on February 3rd jumping 6.62 meters. Last year, she won a Silver medal in the Long Jump at the U18 African Championship and had a personal best of 6.00 meters. Her offseason work has paid off greatly, raising her ability and catching the eye of universities in the NCAA. Ochonogor very recently announced that she has accepted a scholarship offer to attend the University of Arizona in the US next season to continue her athletic and academic career.
As it stands, these three Nigerian women are achieved mark that are among the Top 15 in the world so far this year. Usoro is the leader of the pack ranked #1, Brume is at #4, and Ochonogor is at #14 in the world. With the African Games quickly approaching, the Women’s Long Jump should be expected to put on great performances and bring home medals for the Green-White-Green.
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