By Adedapo Adesanya
Long jumper, Ese Brume, has won Nigeria’s first medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as she claimed the bronze medal in the women’s long jump at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on Tuesday.
She achieved the feat with a 6.97-metre jump, two days after she qualified for the finals with a jump of 6.76 metres.
Germany’s Malaika Mihambo beat Brume to the gold medal with a 7.00-metre jump while Brittney Reese of the United States won the silver medal.
With the development, Brume’s long jump is the first individual event to give Nigeria three medals at the Olympics following Chioma Ajunwa’s gold medal at Atlanta 1996 and Blessing Okagbare’s silver at Beijing 2008.
She also joins both women as the only Nigerians to win individual World Championships and Olympic medals.
Brume’s win adds to positive news for Nigeria at the Olympics after a run of negative news of defeats and the disqualification of some of the country’s athletes.
On Monday, Blessing Oborududu beat Mongolia’s Battsetseg Soronzonbold to reach the final of the women’s freestyle 68kg wrestling.
The win guaranteed Nigeria a medal – gold or silver – at the Olympics.
Current Top 20 Standing as of 09:45 a.m.
People’s Republic of China | 30 | 19 | 16 | 65 | 2 |
United States of America | 22 | 27 | 17 | 66 | 1 |
Japan | 18 | 6 | 10 | 34 | 5 |
Australia | 14 | 4 | 15 | 33 | 6 |
Great Britain | 13 | 13 | 13 | 39 | 4 |
ROC | 12 | 21 | 17 | 50 | 3 |
Germany | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 | 8 |
France | 6 | 10 | 7 | 23 | 9 |
Republic of Korea | 6 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 10 |
New Zealand | 6 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 12 |
Italy | 5 | 9 | 15 | 29 | 7 |
Netherlands | 5 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 10 |
Czech Republic | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 20 |
Canada | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 13 |
Switzerland | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 14 |
Hungary | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 16 |
Brazil | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 14 |
Cuba | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 18 |
Croatia | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 21 |
Chinese Taipei | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 16 |