Team Nigeria rounded up its campaign at the 2022 World Indoor Championship in Belgrade, Serbia, yesterday, with a silver medal, thanks to Ese Brume 6.85m.
The gold went to homegirl, Ivana Vuleta, who jumped 7.06 metres.
Nigeria’s second athlete in the long jump event, Ruth Usoro, finished in the eighth position with 6.69 metres.
The country’s 4x400m relay team had crashed out earlier yesterday when they finished fourth in their heat.
Brume, who started with a 6.22m jump, was the best jumper of the day, as she did not foul in any of her jumps.
Her silver medal returned Nigeria to the World Indoor Championship’s podium for the first time since Olusoji Fasuba raced to 60m gold in Valencia in 2008.
By that feat, Brume has not only become the third Nigerian to win medals at World Athletics Championships indoors and out, as well as at the Olympics behind Glory Alozie and late Sunday Bada, but she is also the third long jumper to win a World Indoor title after Paul Emordi (1987) and Chioma Ajunwa (1997).
The feat moved her to the top of the African and Nigerian indoor list for the year, joint fourth in the African all-time list behind Chioma Ajunwa (6.97m), Blessing Okagbare (6.87m) and Sierra Leone’s Eunice Barber (6.86m).
With Brume’s silver medal win, Nigeria has now won 12 medals in the history of the Championships with two gold medals, seven silver and three bronze.