Prestina Ochonogor following familiar path to greatness
Long jumper, Prestina Oluchi Ochonogor went to Lima, Peru, venue of the ongoing World Athletics U20 Championships as one of the top three best jumpers in the world in her age category.
The 18 year old went with a 6.79m lifetime best and a couple of over 6.60m jumps. She also went there as a finalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics but failed to fulfil expectations as she could only finish fifth in the final with a 6.21m leap.
Ochonogor looks to be following in the path set by her predecessors who were never medalists at the World U20 competition but leapt to become Olympics and World Athletics Championships medalists.
Chioma Ajunwa started her journey to becoming Nigeria’s first and only individual Olympic gold medal winner without a place at the World U20 podium in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
The retired police officer could only place fifth in the final of the event in 1990 but has risen to not only win gold at the Olympics but also a silver at the World indoor championships.
She could have become the first Nigerian to be crowned Olympic and World Champion but for the injury she copped in the qualifying competition at the World Athletics Championships in Athens, Greece.
Blessing Okagbare did not abandon Ajunwa’s path to greatness as she also grew from a disappointment of not winning a medal at the World U20 Championships in Beijing, China in 2006 to leap to the podium at the same city two years later at the biggest sporting stage ever-the Olympics.
Okagbare did not even make it to the final in Beijing in 2006 but has become one of only three Nigerians to win medals at the Olympics and the World Athletics Championships.
She won a silver at the Olympics and another silver in the event at the World Championships in 2013 in Moscow, Russia.
Ese Brume’s story is not any different.
The ever smiling and humble athlete actually finished second from bottom in the qualifiers for the final at the 2014 World U20 Championships.
The African long jump record holder at 7.17m, like Ajunwa and Okagbare, rose from the disappointment to jump to the final of the Olympics two years later in Rio de Janeiro before becoming one of only two Nigerians to win medals in all global Championships and Games at the senior level.
Brume won medals at the World Athletics Championships indoors and out, and at the Olympics, a feat only sprint hurdler, Gloria Alozie achieved three years after Brume was born.
Ochonogor should take inspiration from this and leap into global reckoning, starting with the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan in 2025.
