Ese Brume, Nigerian long jump athlete, took off on brilliant note in her first outdoor competition on Saturday at the prestigious Botswana Golden Grand Prix.
Brume won the women’s Long Jump event at the star-studded Meet on Saturday and she performed in style with a world-leading distance of 6.77m.
The Delta State born reigning African and Commonwealth champion saved her best jump for the last with her final round jump, defeating Burkina Faso’s Marthe Koala, who had led until that moment with 6.69m in the third round.
According to Premium Times, Brume had jumped into an early lead with her opening round distance of 6.65m but after failing to build on that momentum with subsequent failed attempts, she was overtaken after Koala registered a leap of 6.69m.
However, Brume in her characteristic way of delivering when it mattered most leapt to a distance of 6.77m in her final jump to the delight of the crowd at the National Stadium, Gaborone.
The Saturday’s winning mark took Brume to the top of the world list ahead of India’s Shaili Singh’s 6.76m.
Before her outing in Botswana, Brume has been testing the waters and improving her speed.
She made an appearance at the Texas Relays where she was part of a 4x100m relay team and also raced in the 400m event at the Cameron Burrell Alumni Invitational also in Texas.
Having hit the group running with a winning jump in Botswana, the long jump multiple medallist will be hoping to stay in good shape as she targets another rewarding season that would end at the World Championships in Budapest.
Brume has been improving with every of edition of the World Championship; winning the bronze medal in Doha and stepping up to silver at the subsequent edition in Oregon.
Interestingly, the world are waiting to see if the long jump specialist can go another notch higher in Budapest by winning the gold this time.
