Elizabeth Ndudi, a promising 19-year-old athlete, initially saw the University of Illinois as the ideal location to further her athletic journey by expressing to Petros Kyprianou, the head coach, her ambition of participating in the Olympics. Kyprianou matched her enthusiasm and made it his aim as well. However, the Paris Olympics wasn’t her initial focus but that quickly shifted as Ndudi set a new Irish long jump record, which had not been broken in 14 years, in Illinois over the weekend by achieving an impressive jump of 6.68 metres.
In August last year, Ndudi made a significant entry into major athletics by winning the long jump gold medal at the European Under-20 Championships in Jerusalem stylishly and gracefully, marking the first time an Irish competitor had won field event gold in the 53-year history of the championships.
Ndudi further improved the previous Irish record of 6.62m, held by Kelly Proper since 2010, putting herself within possible range for the Olympic qualification with her initial jump of 6.68m, the highest globally for an under-20 athlete this year.
With this being among her first outdoor events, there’s definitely scope for her to better her performance, surpassing the 6.56m long jump record she set when she won gold in August.
The required qualifying mark for the Paris games is 6.86m, and with just 100 days to go, she could potentially make it to the world rankings quota ahead of the cut-off date of 30th June.
Whether or not she gets to compete will be decided by her results in forthcoming matches. The American NCAA Championships taking place on the second weekend of June is her main focus, meaning the European Championships in Rome, which are scheduled from 7th to 12th June, may not be on her list even if she qualifies. She’s also aiming for the World Under-20 Championships scheduled in Peru following the Olympics this August.
For the Tokyo Olympics, Ireland didn’t qualify a single field event athlete. At present, shot put athlete Eric Favors seems likely to qualify according to world rankings, and Reece Ademola appears to have secured a spot in the men’s long jump qualification quota. Nicola Tuthill, on the other hand, barely misses the qualification quota for the women’s hammer event, falling just outside by one spot.
Ndudi, with her diverse background of a Nigerian father and an Irish-Dutch mother, established her roots in athleticism in Dublin, specifically in the St Attracta’s primary school in Ballinteer, south county and the Dundrum-South Athletic Club. Later, when she was 11, Ndudi and her family relocated to Nantes, France in 2016. She was guided by coach Julien Guilard from Racing Club Nantes AC. Since her move to Illinois, Ndudi has thrived under the mentorship of Kyprianou, a Cyprus-born experienced long jump coach who has previously trained several Olympians.
In other news, Rhasidat Adeleke has secured her spot in women’s 4x400m relay and mixed 4x400m relay at the upcoming World Athletics Relays taking place in Nassau, Bahamas on May 4-5. This qualification holds significant importance as it also acts as a passport to the Paris Olympics.
Adeleke will be part of the Irish team consisting of 11 participants striving for qualification. Sharlene Mawdsley will also participate in both events, having achieved notable recognition at the previous World Championships and finishing fifth at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March with the women’s team.
Thomas Barr will put his hurdles pursuits aside to support the team’s qualification efforts, just like he did for Tokyo. The men’s crew is made up of Cillin Greene, Jack Raftery and Christopher O’Donnell, while the women’s team includes Phil Healy, Sophie Becker, Roisin Harrison, Lauren Cadden and Rachal McCann.