Sports minister showers praise on Ese Brume and Tobi Amusan for saving Nigeria's blushes

SPORTS minister Sunday Dare has congratulated long jumper Ese Brume alongside new 100 metres hurdles champion Tobi Amusan for saving Nigeria's blushes at the World Athletics Championship and clinching medals on the last day of the tournament.

Early this morning, Ms Amusan set the world ablaze by setting two world records in the hurdles, running 12.12 and 12.06 seconds in the semi finals and finals respectively. She cleared a highly talented field to win Nigeria's first ever gold medal at a world athletics championship, setting the tournament alight in the process.

Mr Dare has congratulated both athletes, adding that Ms Brume, who came second in the long jump with a leap of 7.02m also did Nigeria proud. He also highlighted a few other positive results for Team Nigeria, even though they did not end in podium finishes.

“I am so proud of what Tobi Amusan, Ese Brume, and even those who didn’t get on the podium have achieved in Eugene, Oregon. This is the beginning of great things for Nigerian athletics. This is a new dawn.

“Years of hard work and consistently knocking on the door has yielded the right dividends. For the first time in our history, we have a World Champion, which is huge. Congratulations to Nigeria.

“For me, these medals are not the only positives from the World Championships as the 4×100m relay teams both men and women showed a lot of promise for the future. The women barely got here as the 16th best team in the world but they got so close to getting on the podium, while the men also gave it their best shot and showed they have a bright future.

“Our athletes in the short sprints also showed character. Some of them are competing on a high-level stage like this for the first time, rubbing shoulders with experienced and tournament-tested veterans and legends and not falling too far behind in extremely tough situations.

“They can beat their chests and be proud of what they have achieved. We now have the responsibility to continue to support them by creating the right environment for their growth,” Mr Dare added.

Thanks to Ms Amusan and Ms Brume, Nigeria ended the tournament with one gold and one silver medal. Were it not for their heroics, Nigeria would have ended the tournament without any medal whatsoever.