Nigeria’s sprinter and long jumper Blessing Okagbare has said that when she competes at the Rabat Diamond League, it feels like she is representing the whole of Africa.
The Morocco based competition brings the best out of her as she participates in it and gets the crowd make her feel at home. “Every time I go there I feel like it’s a home crowd. It may not be Nigeria, but it’s still Africa,” said the sprint and long jump star in the Rabat edition of the Wanda Diamond League Call Room which is set to air on Facebook and Youtube at 18.00 GMT on Sunday.
“When I first heard they were going to have a Diamond League in Rabat back in 2016, I was so happy. For me, Africa was more like home, and it was an honour to be part of it and to represent the continent.”
Okagbare has competed at the Moroccan meet every year since it was incorporated into the Diamond League circuit four years ago, but she won for the first time there only last year, with a season’s best of 11.05 in the 100m.
“Every time I go there I want to do well, but finally last year I got a win!” she said.
Okagbare also discussed her surprise 200m win in Eugene last year, why she became a sprinter almost by accident, and how studying has kept her sane in lockdown.
