History was made in the men’s Long Jump on Day 2 of the Nigerian Olympic Trials being held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin as three men jumped over 8m, with the trio all securing Personal Bests (PB).
Charles Godfred, the National Leader in the event, came to the competition with a PB of 8.14m set in April, which was the farthest jump by a Nigerian Male Long Jumper since Stanley Gbagbeke’s 8.20m leap in 2012.
However, some of the other jumpers in the mix including Goodness Iredia (PB: 7.94m) and African Games finalist, Emmanuel Njoku (7.86m) also brought their ‘A Game’ to the Olympic Trials.
The competition kicked off with Godfred jumping 8.12m, much to the delight of the crowd, which set the tone of the competition. Unknowingly to the spectators, the University of Minnesota freshman had more in the tank.
He later went all out on his penultimate jump to a stunning PB of 8.16m to seal his place as Nigeria’s Best male Long Jumper in 2024, earning him his first national title.
Goodness Iredia and Emmanuel Njoku eventually entered into the 8-metre club as they both delivered PBs of 8.03m and 8.00m to take 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The last time more than one person jumped above 8 meters on home soil was 34 years ago in Bauchi during a face-off between National Record Holder, Yusuff Ali and Festus Igbinoghene.
The trio will most likely be making their African Championships debut in Cameroon by the weekend.
