Ruth Usoro makes new entry in the recap of the best performances by Nigerian athletes in the outgoing week.
Every week brings a new highlight to be proud of, and this time it is Ruth Usoro's world-leading and World Championships automatic qualifying mark of 6.87m, to win the women's long jump final at the Texas Tech Open and Multis.
Her distance moved her to second on the all-time African indoor list behind Chioma Ajunwa's African Record (AR) of 6.97m and ahead of Ese Brume's 6.85m (Silver medal-winning mark at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade last year).
She is now the second Nigerian jumper, after Ese Brume, to automatically qualify for the event set to take place in Budapest.
Edose Ibadin with new National Record
Nigerian Record (NR) holder in the 800m Edose Ibadin made a strong start to the season, racing to 1000m NR of 2:20.34 to finish second in the event.
Ibadin has been off competing actively in the athletics scene for over a year, so coming back with this record-breaking form is highly impressive.
School Records is now mince meat for Nigerian athletes
Rosemary Chukwuma is not stopping soon from setting new School Records (SR) every week. This time, the speedster erased her own Personal Best (PB), and SR of 7.11s set two weeks ago, with a new time of 7.09s to win the 60m final at the Texas Tech Open and Multis.
Chukwuma's time rose to No. 5 on the all-time Nigerian indoor list and tied for seventh all-time in Africa.
At the New Mexico Team Open, Alaba Akintola blazed to an indoor PB and SR of 20.63s to finish second in the 200m final, becoming the first Nigerian sprinter to go sub-21s this season. It is also the fastest time in the C-USA and No. 6 on the NCAA top list this year.
On his season debut, Udodi Onwuzuruike broke his School Record (SR) twice on his way to finishing second in the men's 60m final at the Razorback Invitational.
The Stanford University sophomore student first equaled his SR of 6.67s to win his qualifying heat, then lowered it to 6.63s in the final despite stumbling at the start of the race.
He has now tied or broken the SR eight times so far in the 60m, 100m, and 200m outdoors, making him the best sprinter in the school's history.
Meanwhile, for the second consecutive week, Miracle Thompson rewrote her Cloud County 60m Hurdles SR. This time, with a time of 8.35s to win the event at Wichita State.
She also doubled by winning the 60m dash in a PB of 7.48s, improving her 7.50s from last week.
Impressive Personal Bests
On his season debut and first appearance for Texas Tech University, Best Erhire equaled his PB of 2.23m to win the men's high jump final at the Texas Tech Open and Multis.
His mark is fifth on the all-time school list and the best in Nigeria.
Ella Onojuvwevwo clocked a PB of 53.57s in the 400m at the Razorback Invitational, putting her ahead of Imaobong Uko as Nigeria's current fastest quarter-miler this year.