Texas Tech's Ruth Usoro On the Cusp of Making Childhood Dream Reality
May 14, 2021 | Track & Field
By Greg McCune, Special Contributor
At the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March, Texas Tech's Ruth Usoro was in second place in the triple jump with just one attempt remaining. It would have been easy to settle for runner-up.
"It's not over until it's over," Usoro said, quoting the old Yogi Berra baseball adage that she uses as motivation.
She unleashed a jump of 14.27 meters (46 feet 10 inches) on that final attempt, the same distance as Deborah Acquah of Texas A&M. Usoro won her first NCAA Championship because her second-best jump was longer than Acquah.
It was not the first time that Usoro had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at a championship. She and Tara Davis of Texas had a great duel in the Long Jump at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in February. On her last attempt, Usoro jumped 6.82 meters (22 feet 4 ½ inches) to surpass Davis and achieve the standard to qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo.
Usoro credits her strong religious faith - trusting that God will give her strength - and an ability to overcome fears, for her ability to do her best under pressure.
"Anything can happen at championships," Usoro said in an interview before the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field meet. "You have to look on the inside and know that there is more and you can always react."
Usoro is among a group of Big 12 athletes taking the NCAA jumping events by storm this year. She surprised herself when she surpassed the Olympic standard for the Triple Jump just weeks into the indoor season in February, meaning that she has qualified to represent her country of Nigeria in two events. She leaped even further last month, going 14.50 meters (47 feet 7 inches) at her home track in Lubbock.
To put that in perspective, Shardia Lawrence of Kansas State won the NCAA Championship in the Triple Jump in 2019 with a leap of 13.99 meters (45 feet 10 ¾ inches). Usoro has jumped nearly two feet beyond that.
Her dueling partner in the long jump, Tara Davis, has been equally impressive this season. At the Texas Relays in March, she jumped 7.14 meters (23 feet 5 ¼ inches) to break a 36-year-old collegiate record in the long jump set by the legendary Olympic champion Jackie Joyner Kersee.
Davis' Texas teammate, Obrien Wasome, has the nation's leading mark in the men's triple jump and TCU's Chengetayi Mapaya is third in the NCAA. Steffin McCarter of Texas has the second-longest men's long jump this season. K-State and Oklahoma also have impressive athletes in the jumping events.
"The jumps this weekend are going to be insane," said Texas Tech Head Coach Wes Kittley. "K-State is a great place to jump and I can't wait to see all the records."
What should be scary for her competitors, Usoro has only been seriously training in the triple jump for less than two years.
She said that when she was nine years old she was watching the Olympics on television when she told her family she wanted to represent Nigeria in the Olympic Games. They didn't take her seriously at first but she kept saying it, until her father went searching for a coach.
She ran and long jumped for her team in Nigeria and only did the triple jump to score points at nationals.
It wasn't until she got to Texas Tech in 2019 that her coach convinced her to take the triple jump seriously.
It is a highly technical event involving a series of three separate jumps – sometimes referred to as the "hop, skip and jump." It requires speed, strength, balance and agility.
She said that her dramatic improvement this year is largely due to her mental preparation. She said she tries to be humble, diligent, hungry and focused.
"I try not to let the whims of today get into my head," she said.
Now she is on the cusp of making her childhood wish to represent Nigeria in the Olympics come true.
"That has always been my dream and I just thank God for making it a reality," she said.
At the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March, Texas Tech's Ruth Usoro was in second place in the triple jump with just one attempt remaining. It would have been easy to settle for runner-up.
"It's not over until it's over," Usoro said, quoting the old Yogi Berra baseball adage that she uses as motivation.
She unleashed a jump of 14.27 meters (46 feet 10 inches) on that final attempt, the same distance as Deborah Acquah of Texas A&M. Usoro won her first NCAA Championship because her second-best jump was longer than Acquah.
It was not the first time that Usoro had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at a championship. She and Tara Davis of Texas had a great duel in the Long Jump at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in February. On her last attempt, Usoro jumped 6.82 meters (22 feet 4 ½ inches) to surpass Davis and achieve the standard to qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo.
Usoro credits her strong religious faith - trusting that God will give her strength - and an ability to overcome fears, for her ability to do her best under pressure.
"Anything can happen at championships," Usoro said in an interview before the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field meet. "You have to look on the inside and know that there is more and you can always react."
Usoro is among a group of Big 12 athletes taking the NCAA jumping events by storm this year. She surprised herself when she surpassed the Olympic standard for the Triple Jump just weeks into the indoor season in February, meaning that she has qualified to represent her country of Nigeria in two events. She leaped even further last month, going 14.50 meters (47 feet 7 inches) at her home track in Lubbock.
To put that in perspective, Shardia Lawrence of Kansas State won the NCAA Championship in the Triple Jump in 2019 with a leap of 13.99 meters (45 feet 10 ¾ inches). Usoro has jumped nearly two feet beyond that.
Her dueling partner in the long jump, Tara Davis, has been equally impressive this season. At the Texas Relays in March, she jumped 7.14 meters (23 feet 5 ¼ inches) to break a 36-year-old collegiate record in the long jump set by the legendary Olympic champion Jackie Joyner Kersee.
Davis' Texas teammate, Obrien Wasome, has the nation's leading mark in the men's triple jump and TCU's Chengetayi Mapaya is third in the NCAA. Steffin McCarter of Texas has the second-longest men's long jump this season. K-State and Oklahoma also have impressive athletes in the jumping events.
"The jumps this weekend are going to be insane," said Texas Tech Head Coach Wes Kittley. "K-State is a great place to jump and I can't wait to see all the records."
What should be scary for her competitors, Usoro has only been seriously training in the triple jump for less than two years.
She said that when she was nine years old she was watching the Olympics on television when she told her family she wanted to represent Nigeria in the Olympic Games. They didn't take her seriously at first but she kept saying it, until her father went searching for a coach.
She ran and long jumped for her team in Nigeria and only did the triple jump to score points at nationals.
It wasn't until she got to Texas Tech in 2019 that her coach convinced her to take the triple jump seriously.
It is a highly technical event involving a series of three separate jumps – sometimes referred to as the "hop, skip and jump." It requires speed, strength, balance and agility.
She said that her dramatic improvement this year is largely due to her mental preparation. She said she tries to be humble, diligent, hungry and focused.
"I try not to let the whims of today get into my head," she said.
Now she is on the cusp of making her childhood wish to represent Nigeria in the Olympics come true.
"That has always been my dream and I just thank God for making it a reality," she said.
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