National record holder in the women’s high jump, Temitope Adeshina, won her first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) title on Saturday, scaling a height of 1.94m at the NCAA indoor championships, held at the Virginia Beach Sports Centre, Virginia, USA.
Her triumph also etched her name in the history books for Nigeria as she became the first Nigerian to win an NCAA title in high jump.
Adeshina claimed the US’s collegiate national title with a new season’s best of 1.94m, finishing joint-top with Elena Kulichenko.
Both athletes were tied after the last round of jumps and opted not to go for a jump off, thereby sharing the title and pushing former champion Rachel Glenn down to third.
This year’s win is a big leap for the Texas Tech athlete, Adeshina, who finished fourth in the event last year.
The Lagos-born athlete had her breakout in 2022 when she won the Nigerian national title and also qualified for the African Championships.
She won her second consecutive title last year and also represented the country at the African Championships and the Paris Olympics.
The 26-year-old was the first Nigerian jumper to qualify for the Olympics since Doreen Amata in 2016.
Last year, she set the Nigerian indoor and outdoor records with a jump of 1.96m at the Texas Tech Corky Classic meet.
The previous records of 1.93m (indoor) and 1.95m (outdoor), were set by Amata in 2016 and 2008 respectively.
She is a two-time silver medallist at the African Championships.
