History-chasing Ese Brume chases Olympics qualification ticket to China

Ese Brume will be eager to wrap up qualification for her third straight Olympics appearance when she opens her Diamond League campaign at the Yangtze River Delta Athletics Diamond Gala on Saturday, April 27 in Shanghai/Suzhou, the second fixture in the 2024 Diamond League season.

Brume needs to hit the 6.86m mark to secure automatic qualification for the Paris Olympics and the 28 year old African record holder in the long jump event will be praying for a favourable weather and wind after her 6.92m gold winning leap at the 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana last month was rendered illegal by a massive +3.9m/s tail wind.

The reigning Commonwealth Games champion and second Nigerian, man or woman in history, to have won medals at every global championships and Games after Glory Alozie is seeking to become the first Nigerian track and field athlete to win two individual medals at the Olympics after winning bronze eight years ago in Brazil.

The trio of Falilat Ogunkoya, Mary Onyali and Enefiok Udobong won two medals too at the Olympics but their second one, especially for the duo of Ogunkoya and Onyali did not come through their solo efforts alone. They needed the help of others to win in the 4x400m and 4x100m relays respectively.

Udobong had to also rely on his effort as well as that of others to win the two Olympic medals he won in 2000 and 2004 in the 4x400m relay.

Brume will also be seeking to win her first real Diamond League event after coming first in the long jump promotional event at the Memorial van Damme in Brussels, Belgium in September 2022.

The Nigerian was second in the final of the competition last year in Eugene, losing the title on countback to Serbia’s Ivana Vuleta who had also denied the Nigerian of the gold medal at the World indoor championships in March of the same year.

World 100m hurdles record holder, Tobi Amusan will also be in action in Shanghai/Suzhou seven days after finishing fifth in Xiamen, also in China behind reigning Olympic champion in the event, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.45), reigning World indoor champion and record holder, Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas, 2022 World indoor champion (12.49), Samba-Mayena Cyréna (12.55) and reigning World outdoor champion, Williams Danielle of Jamaica (12.56).

Amusan who turned 27 on April will be eager to present herself a perfect birthday gift by proving in Shanghai/Suzhou that she is the world record holder and defending Diamond League champion.