Blessing Okagbare Biography
Blessing Okagbare-Otegheri born October 9, 1988, better known as Blessing Okagbare, is a Nigerian track and field athlete, a short sprint and long jump specialist. She hails from Delta State and is a winner of Olympic and World Championship medals and holds the women’s 100 meter Commonwealth Games record for the fastest time at 10.85.
Wiki Profile
| Full Name: | Blessing Okagbare-Otegheri |
| Date of Birth: | October 9, 1988 |
| Place of Birth: | Sapele, Delta State |
| State of Origin: | Delta State |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
| Occupation: | Athlete |
| Net Worth: | $1 million |
| Husband/Spouse: | Igho Otegheri |
Early Life and Education
Blessing Okagbare was born in Sapele, Delta, Nigeria, to Urhobo parents. Teachers and family encouraged her to participate in sports because of her athletic body.
She began playing football as a teenager in high school and later, in 2004, she became interested in track and field. She competed in a variety of sports early on, collecting medals in the long jump, triple jump, and high jump events at the Nigerian school championships.
On the senior national level, she won a bronze medal in the triple jump at the 2004 Nigerian National Sports Festival. Okagbare made her international debut in the 2006 World Junior Athletics Championships, where she competed in the qualifying stages of both the long and triple jump competitions.
In May 2007, at the All-Africa Games trials in Lagos, she set a Nigerian record in the triple jump of 14.13 meters. She won silver in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump at the 2007 All-Africa Games. Chinonye Ohadugha, who leapt 14.21 meters, broke her Nigerian record in the latter competition.
Career
Blessing Okagbare won a silver medal in the women’s long jump as a 19-year-old at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She was chosen to compete in the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, but she did not compete in the 100 m or long jump.
Okagbare scored a 100 m/long jump double for the University of Texas at El Paso in the NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship, completing the UTEP Miners’ undefeated college streak that year.
She won the Nigerian 100m title in 2010, clocking a time of 11.04 seconds, and indicated that she was skipping the long jump to focus on the forthcoming African championships.
Blessing Okagbare holds the record for the current African 200 m with 22.04 seconds in 2018.
Her 100 m best of 10.79 made her the African record holder for the event until Murielle Ahouré broke it in 2016. Okagbare ran a wind-aided 10.63 100 m on June 17, 2021.
She set the African record for the 200m in 2018 with a time of 22.04 seconds, making her the second-fastest African female athlete behind Christine Mboma, who set the African mark in 2021 with a time of 21.78 seconds.
In 2010, she won the African 100m and long jump titles. She has also competed in the All-Africa Games, the IAAF Continental Cup, and the World Relays.
During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Okagbare won her first round heat in the 100 meters in 11.05. She was later suspended on July 31, 2021, after failing a drug test on July 19, 2021, which tested positive for human growth hormone.
Blessing Okagbare Net Worth
Okagbare is a top Nigerian athlete with a net worth of $1million.
Blessing Okagbare Husband
Okagbare is happily married to Igho Otegheri, a Nigerian footballer. The couple got married in 2014.
Blessing Okagbare Height and Weight
She has an height of 1.81 m (5 ft 11in) and weight of 71 kg (157 In).
Controversies
Okagbare was suspended after failing a drugs test during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on July 31, 2021. On February 18, 2022, it was revealed that she had been suspended from athletics for ten years, beginning July 30, 2021, for several violations of World Athletics Anti-Doping guidelines.
Okagbare was banned for ten years after a hearing at the Athletics Integrity Unit found her to have taken both human growth hormone and EPO over a lengthy period of time and to have failed to cooperate with the inquiry.
Conclusion
Blessing Okagbare has impacted the nation with her talent and prowess in athletics having won several accolades.
She has made her country proud by representing the green white green flag.
Okagbare is happily married to the love of her life who is a Nigerian footballer.
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