Sports
Sports Minister Celebrates Brume
Nigeria’s Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, has congratulated Nigerian long jumper, Ese Brume for her second-place finish in the long jump event at the Diamond League in Eugene, Oregon.
Brume came close to winning her first Diamond League title after leaping 6.85 m (0.2) to finish 2nd in the women’s long jump as she hit her biggest jump of the year.
The Nigerian jumped the same marks as the winner, Serbian Ivana Vuketa, at 6.58m, but they were only separated on countback.
The reigning Olympic bronze medalist and Commonwealth champion was so close to making history as Nigeria’s first field athlete to win a Diamond League trophy, but she lost out by a slim margin.
Brume did not get a chance to respond to Ivana’s 6.85m, passing up her 6th attempt with what seemed like an injury.
World champion, Serbia’s Ivana Vuleta, won the long jump title for the third consecutive time and her fifth overall Diamond League title.
On his social media to celebrate the success of Brume, he lauded the Nigerian for finishing strong despite missing out on first place by a slim margin.
He wrote, “Ese Brume has continued to make us proud time and again. From the Olympics to the Commonwealth Games to the Diamond Leagues, Ese has consistently ranked amongst the top athletes in her sports, globally,”
“While it is disappointing that she narrowly missed out on the Diamond League title, I want to state that the country remains proud of her achievements. I am sure that she will bounce back and take her rightful place. I urge her and other athletes likewise to stay focused on the bigger picture as we draw closer to the 2024 Olympic Games.”
Brume won a bronze medal at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, before winning silver medals at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and World Indoor Championships in Eugene and Belgrade, respectively.
She also won gold in Birmingham, during the Commonwealth Games which was held in the summer of 2022 to retain the title she won in 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland.
At the recently concluded World Championships in Budapest, Brume’s chance of making history for Nigeria ended agonizingly after she finished fourth in the women’s long jump final.
The Nigerian was so close to making history as the most decorated athlete in World Championships history from the West African country, having won bronze and silver medals in 2019 and 2022.
Brume won a bronze medal at the last Olympic games in Tokyo, before going on to win silver medals at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and World Indoor Championships in Eugene and Belgrade, respectively. In the summer of 2022, she won gold in Birmingham during the Commonwealth Games.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.
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