By Monica Iheakam
Nigeria’s Ruth Usoro, has started the new year on a blistering note as she has shattered her own world record in Triple Jump.
Usoro over the weekend produced the field event highlight, smashing her own national record but also breaking the collegiate indoor record with a 14.76m jump, thus setting a new Nigeria and NCAA triple jump record at the Corky Classics in Lubbock, Texas.
The 24-year-old also won the long jump with 6.48m to complete the double at the meeting but it was her incredible effort in the triple jump that produced the field event highlight of the meeting.
Her 14.76m mark is now number one in the indoor all-time collegiate list in the triple jump, bettering the 14.53m mark set by Keturah Orji in January 2018.
In 2021, Usoro made history as the first Nigerian to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in long and triple jump.
However, her Olympic dream was aborted as she was listed among the 10 athletes disqualified from participating in the games in Japan for failing to submit the required three out-of -tournament drug test results.