The path to international stardom all started in Beijing, China for Blessing Okagbare seven (7) years ago at the 2008 Summer Olympic Stadium where as a young 19 year old she won a bronze medal for Nigeria in the long Jump. This awesome journey that has made Blessing the current face of Nike in Africa and one of the most recognizable sports personalities on the continent and beyond only seems to have begun yesterday as some would say and now seven years later the now mega star returns to familiar grounds which gave birth to her international career.
As the star travels to Beijing she reminisces about not only how far she has come but how fast it all seems to have happened for her since she began her journey to fame. ‘It only seems like yesterday she muses” looking over pictures of herself that reminds her of a young kid out of Sapele who dreamed of one day making it big and making her nation proud and with no pun intended she has indeed been ‘Blessed’ to live out her dreams thanks to a superior supply of talent.
As the star travels to Beijing she reminisces about not only how far she has come but how fast it all seems to have happened for her since she began her journey to fame. ‘It only seems like yesterday she muses” looking over pictures of herself that reminds her of a young kid out of Sapele who dreamed of one day making it big and making her nation proud and with no pun intended she has indeed been ‘Blessed’ to live out her dreams thanks to a superior supply of talent.
She could have been a soccer star but for some of her teachers in Sapele she switched to the jumps in Track and Field and started competing in the Long Triple and High jump all of which she became very good at. She would eventually earn a spot to the IAAF World Juniors in 2006 and the 2007 All African Games events that opened the doors of opportunity widely for her as she would then get an offer for a sports scholarship to the University of Texas at El Paso in western Texas.
Her sojourn deep into the far western frontiers of Texas will take a different twist as the Coaches she was working under at the University of Texas at El Paso started noticing how quick she was on the runway for the jumps and advised her to try the sprints and within a short time she became a dominant force and an eventual NCAA 100 meters and Long Jump Champion.
Ever since graduating from the University of Texas at El Paso her journey into the upper echelon of the sport of Track and Field has been nothing but spectacular and today she ranks in the top three in both the women’s 100 & 200 meters and has both the African women’s 100 meters record of 10.79 seconds and the Commonwealth Games Women’s 100 meters record as well of 10.85 seconds firmly in her grip.
Blessing heads to Beijing, China to face her rivals some of whom have gotten to know her over time and have become friends with her but as she hops on a plane to once again lace up her spikes and duel it out with bitter rivals and friends she thoughtfully broods over how her life has transformed through time and she looks back at her life, career and her future.
She has accomplished what no other woman in the annals of the history of sports in Nigeria has done and rivals legendary women of sports in other parts of Africa like Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa but the best is yet to come as the star approaches the prime of her career.
Blessing will be competing in the Women’s 100 and 200 meters at the upcoming IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing in a few days and so along with all her fans we wish her the best of luck and God’s blessings to come out victorious in both her events and become the first African woman to win the sprint double at the IAAF Championships.
Her sojourn deep into the far western frontiers of Texas will take a different twist as the Coaches she was working under at the University of Texas at El Paso started noticing how quick she was on the runway for the jumps and advised her to try the sprints and within a short time she became a dominant force and an eventual NCAA 100 meters and Long Jump Champion.
Ever since graduating from the University of Texas at El Paso her journey into the upper echelon of the sport of Track and Field has been nothing but spectacular and today she ranks in the top three in both the women’s 100 & 200 meters and has both the African women’s 100 meters record of 10.79 seconds and the Commonwealth Games Women’s 100 meters record as well of 10.85 seconds firmly in her grip.
Blessing heads to Beijing, China to face her rivals some of whom have gotten to know her over time and have become friends with her but as she hops on a plane to once again lace up her spikes and duel it out with bitter rivals and friends she thoughtfully broods over how her life has transformed through time and she looks back at her life, career and her future.
She has accomplished what no other woman in the annals of the history of sports in Nigeria has done and rivals legendary women of sports in other parts of Africa like Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa but the best is yet to come as the star approaches the prime of her career.
Blessing will be competing in the Women’s 100 and 200 meters at the upcoming IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing in a few days and so along with all her fans we wish her the best of luck and God’s blessings to come out victorious in both her events and become the first African woman to win the sprint double at the IAAF Championships.
By: Leslie Koroma
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