Nigeria’s reigning African record holder, Ese Brume, on Tuesday expressed delight at winning the first medal for the country at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Brume placed third after she surrendered silver on countback to Britney Reese of the U.S. as both leapt to 6.97m, while Malaika Mihambo of Germany got gold with her last jump with a leap of 7.00m.
A visibly excited Brume, who was in tears of joy while holding the Nigerian flag said: “Thank you Jesus and thank you all for your prayers. Thank you, thank you so much.”
Speaking later at the Mixed zone of the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, the Nigerian medalist said she is dedicating her first Olympic medal to Bishop David Oyedepo, founder and presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners’ Chapel International; her coach, Kayode Gaya; and her family.
“This medal means a lot to me. It doesn’t matter the colour. First I dedicate it to Bishop Oyedepo and I plan to decorate him with the medal later”, she said amidst sobs and wiping her tears.
“I’m super excited that I made it to the top three at the Olympics. Honestly, I can’t contend with my joy.
I have NEVER seen myself in worse situations because I was injured. But my coach kept pushing and my trust in God renewed my energy. When I break the African record, my injury was still fresh. It spurred me. And here I am today grateful to God and all those he used to make me an Olympic medallist.”
Brume’s medal Nigeria’s first track and field medal at the Olympics since 2008 when Blessing Okagbare won a silver medal in Beijing, China.
It also makes the long jump the first individual event to give Nigeria three medals at the Olympics with Chioma Ajunwa’s gold at the Atlanta ‘96 Olympics topping Okagbare’s silver from 2008 and Brume’s bronze.
Additional reporting from NAN and Vanguard
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