Beijing 2008 Bronze medallist Blessing Okagbare will return to her first love as she faces a stacked field in the women’s Long Jump event at the Eugene Diamond League on Saturday, May 28.
The African Record holder in the 100m comes with a Season’s Best (SB) of 6.25m set at the Drake Relays in April where she finished 4th, with Great Britain’s Lorraine Ugen winning the event, while Olympic Champion Brittney Reese followed in 2nd place.
The Moscow 2013 Silver medallist certainly has her work cut out as she chases qualification for the event in Rio, with the entry mark being pegged at 6.70m. It is not yet certain if she plans to compete in the sport that brought her to the limelight at the forthcoming Olympics.
This will be Okagbare’s second outing in the Long Jump this season, and perhaps jumping alongside a formidable field will propel the Commonwealth Games double sprint champion to greater heights at the Hayward Field in Oregon.
The star-studded line-up comprises of World No.2 and two-time World Championships Bronze medallist Ivana Spanovic who comes with an SB of 6.95m; two-time World Champion Tianna Bartoletta (6.75m), and compatriot Reese (6.74m).
Others are USA’s Janay Deloach (6.64m), World Championships finalist Christabel Nettey (6.75m) and Great Britain’s duo of Ugen (6.61m) and Shara Proctor (6.46m) who won a Silver medal at the Beijing 2015 World Championships.
