Ese Brume on Tuesday gave Team Nigeria their first medal at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with a bronze medal in the women’s long jump event.
Brume recorded a 6.97 metres jump in the final of the event at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium to win her first Olympic medal and Nigeria’s first at this Games.
2019 African Games champion
Brume won gold in long jump at the 2019 African Games after leaping 6.69m. This was her third consecutive African senior title.
Chioma Ajunwa’s 25-year long jump record
Brume on June 12, 2021 in the United States broke Chioma Ajunwa’s 25-year African women’s long jump record.
She leapt a distance of 7.17m at the Chula Vista Field Festival in California to break the 7.13m record set by Ajunwa on her way to winning gold at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.
Brume leapt the distance in her sixth jump, after earlier leaping 6.75m, 6.83m, 6.83m, 6.88m and 6.83m respectively.
Brume won bronze at the 2019 World Championships in Doha
Ese Brume won the first medal for Nigeria at the 2019 Athletics World Championship in Doha.
She won Bronze in the long jump event after leaping to a 6.91m (+0.3 wind) in her second attempt.
She lost the silver medal to Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk by an inch.
Romanchuk jumped 6.92m on her fifth attempt to move into second place, with Malaika Mihambo strengthening her grip on gold with 7.09m.
Brume’s medal came six years after Blessing Okagbare won a silver medal in the long jump and a bronze in the women’s 200m events at the 2013 edition in Moscow.
She is the third Nigerian to make it to the final of the event after Chioma Ajunwa and Okagbare.
2016 Olympic Games in Rio
Brume is the only Nigerian athlete who reached the final of her event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Brume represented Nigeria at the 2016 Olympic Games where she placed 5th in the Long Jump final with a leap of 6.81m.
Nigeria’s 13-year wait for Olympic medal
Brume’s bronze at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics was Nigeria’s first track and field medal at the Olympics since 2008 when Okagbare won a silver medal in Beijing.
Ese Brume recorded a 6.97 metres jump in the final of women’s high jump event at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium to win her first Olympic medal and Nigeria’s first at this Games.
25-year-old Nigerian placed behind American Brittney Reese who claimed the silver medal with a jump of 6.97m also.
Summary of Ese Brume’s scorecard
* Olympics medallist (2021)
* World Champs Bronze medallist (2019)
* Commonwealth Games champion (2014)
* Three-time African champion
* African Games champion