Competing with Okagbare will motivate me to excel in Morocco, says Brume

Cyprus-Based Nigerian female long jumper, Ese Brume says the presence of Blessing Okagbare in the event would give her added motivation when hostilities begin in the 2019 African Games in Morocco.

Okagbare is expected to fly the nation’s flag in three events, 100m, 200m and the long jump at the African Games, which will hold from August 19 to 31 in Rabat.

Speaking with The Guardian from her base in North Cyprus yesterday, Brume, who made big headlines last week with a superlative 7.05m to win the long jump at the Turkish National Championship in Bursa, said she had a lot to gain competing side by side with Okagbare at the African Games.

“I am learning so much from her (Blessing Okagbare) and I am glad to have the opportunity to learn more from her,” Brume said in a chat with The Guardian.

Apart from winning the women’s long jump, Brume also broke her Personal Best with her massive 7.05m jump in Turkey. She moved to second on the African all-time list behind Chioma Ajunwa’s African Record of 7.12m, while Okagbare is third on the list with 6.96m.

Brume had earlier set a new PB in the long jump when she jumped 6.96m at the 5th International Sprint-Relay Cup in Erzurum Kadin.Brume, who is combining education with sports at the Eastern Mediterranean University in North Cyprus, has however made a passionate appeal to the sports ministry to include her coach, Kayode Yahaya, on the list of coaches to the African Games to brighten her chances of winning a medal for Nigeria.

“My coach has been with me here in Cyprus since 2017, and it will be good to see him by my side at the African Games in Morocco. His presence will mean a lot to me,” Brume stated.Brume stunned the world by winning gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She was the last athlete standing for Nigeria at Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where she placed fifth in the long jump final with a leap of 6.81m.