Blessing Okagbare is proving to be the big star at the African Athletics Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. She blessed Nigeria with two more gold medals on Friday, in the women’s long jump and the 4-by-100 meter relay, and now has won three gold medals total in the Kenyan capital.
On Thursday, the 21-year-old Okagbare earned the right to be called “Africa’s Fastest Woman” when she won the 100-meter dash in Nairobi in 11.03 seconds.
The rising star from Sapele, Delta State, was one of the few bright spots for Nigeria at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where she won a bronze medal in the women’s long jump. As we look ahead to the 2012 Olympics in London, I think Okagbare will be one of Africa’s top medal hopefuls.
She has improved her athletic skills here in the USA, where she attends the University of Texas at El Paso on an athletic scholarship.
Blessing Okagbare, a big blessing for Nigerian athletics.