World Silver Medalist, Ese Brume, says she will be back stronger in next year’s Olympics Games in Paris, France.
“I couldn’t win a medal here in Budapest, but I am not a failure,” soft speaking Brume told The Guardian at their Park Inn hotel Radisson, Budapest, on Monday.
After some Nigerian athletes crashed out of the 19th World Athletics Championship holding in Budapest, Hungary, the hope for a medal fell on Brume, who qualified for the long jump final on the opening day of the championships.
But on Sunday, things couldn’t work out fine, as Brume finished 4th in the final. She was on her way to clinching her third straight World Championships medal in the long jump event after her 6.84m second round leap, a new Season Best.
But her mark was bettered by the chasing pack which included the 30 year old Romania’s Alina Rotaru-Kottmann.
With reigning World indoor champion, Ivana Vuleta consolidating on her 7.05m second round lead with a massive 7.14m world lead in the fifth round and USA’s Tara Davis-Woodhall’s 6.91m first round effort ‘safely’ looking ‘uncatchable’, Brume also looked a sure bet for the bronze.
Rotaru-Kottmann was in seventh position going into the final round but seemed to have saved her best for the last as she flew high into the sky and landed with 6.88m.
While Rotaru-Kottmann and the people of Romania were celebrating ‘the golden bronze’ Nigerians inside the Stadium looked sad.
For Brume, her inability to pick the bronze in Budapest is not the end of her athletics career.
“I came prepared to put smile on faces of Nigerians, particularly my fans. Apart from trying to make myself happy, there are certain people in Nigeria who looks up to me. They pray for my success all the time. They shouldn’t feel disappointed.
“Everything in life had a phase. I am going through a phase now, but I must say that I am not a failure. I pray that things take a a different shape next year both at the African Games and Aris Olympics,” Brume stated.
Ese Brume would have become the first Nigerian to win three medals at the World Championships following wins in 2019 and 2022. She would have also been the first athlete to win in three consecutively editions of the championships.
