Ruth Usoro has attributed her Commonwealth Games silver medal to divine intervention after overcoming illness and a difficult season to reach the podium in Glasgow.
The Nigerian long jumper, who won silver with a season’s best leap of 6.87 metres, revealed after the competition that she had not been feeling well in the days leading up to the event.
“I haven’t really been feeling so well for some days now. I just have a cough for some reason, and I was wondering how I was going to give my best here. But honestly, the summary of it is that God carried me. I don’t even know how. But here we are,” she told PREMIUM TIMES in Glasgow.
Usoro’s opening jump of 6.87m put her in the lead after the first round before England’s Jazmin Sawyers eventually claimed gold with 6.93m. The Nigerian held on for silver, her first major international outdoor medal.
The result completed a remarkable turnaround for the athlete, who was not originally listed in Nigeria’s squad for the Glasgow Games. She only received a late call-up after long jump star Ese Brume became unavailable.
Reflecting on the unexpected opportunity, Usoro said everything had fallen into place in ways she never imagined.
“I wasn’t supposed to be here, and then I found myself at the Commonwealth Games. Everything has just been glory to glory from there. Then a season’s best yesterday, then another season’s best today. It’s just been amazing.”
A difficult season
Usoro admitted that the 2026 season had been far from straightforward, making the silver medal even more special.
She explained that her focus before the competition was simply to honour God and make those who had supported her proud.
“Going out there, I was just praying, ‘God help me. I just want to bring glory to your name. I just want to bring the medal and make my family, my friends, my coach and my team proud.’ I’m glad this happened. I’m just so thankful to God.”
The silver medal represented a significant improvement on her sixth-place finish at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and added another medal to Nigeria’s impressive athletics campaign in Glasgow.
Looking ahead
Despite ending the Games on a high, Usoro said she has not yet decided what comes next.
“This season has been a bit rocky. Let’s just see what else God has in store for me.”
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She also praised the National Sports Commission (NSC) for improvements in athlete welfare, saying the current environment has helped competitors perform better.
“Things have actually been getting better so far. No doubt we still have a long way to go, like every other country. But compared to how it used to be before, there have been lots of improvements.
“I think at these Games, most of us were in the best mental space that we could be compared to before. I know things can still be better, but I appreciate what they are doing.”
Usoro’s silver is one of several medals won by Team Nigeria’s athletics team in Glasgow, where the country remains Africa’s highest-ranked nation on the Commonwealth Games medals table.
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