Abigail Irozuru
{{Short description|British long jumper}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{MedalTableTop
|image= Abigail Irozuru, 2020 (cropped).jpg
|image_size= 200px
|caption= Irozuru at the 2020 Gyulai Memorial
|medals=
{{Medal|Country|{{GBR2}}}}
{{Medal|Sport | Women's athletics}}
{{Medal|Competition|Commonwealth Youth Games}}
{{Medal|Gold |2008 Pune|Long jump}}
}}
Abigail Irozuru (born 3 January 1990, in Manchester) is an English track and field athlete, specialising in long jump.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=27328/|title = Athlete Profile}} She was sponsored by Virgin Trains West Coast and had a Class 390 Pendolino train named after her in September 2011.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120227141852/http://mediaroom.virgintrains.co.uk/2011/09/athletes-given-helping-hand-by-virgin.html/ Athletes given helping hand by Virgin Trains: Long Jumper Abigail Irozuru gets Virgin Pendolino train named after her] Virgin Trains 28 September 2011
She competed for the Sale Harriers, the same club as former Great Britain athletes Diane Modahl and Darren Campbell.{{cite web|url=http://www.saleharriersmanchester.com/rankings-and-records.aspx/ |title=Rankings and Records |accessdate=2012-03-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320190355/http://www.saleharriersmanchester.com/rankings-and-records.aspx |archivedate=2012-03-20 }}
Early life
Irozuru was born in Manchester. Both of her parents are from the Igbo people of Nigeria.{{cite web |last1=Fisher |first1=Toya-Doll |title=Jesus first, Olympics second |url=https://www.womanalive.co.uk/jesus-first-olympics-second/16205.article |website=Woman Alive |access-date=3 September 2023 |date=1 September 2023}}
Career
Irozuru began participating in athletics as a 14-year-old after she excelled at a youth athletics match by winning the 100 m, 200 m, 4 × 100 m and the long jump.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} This led to an invitation by Ian Wiltshire to start training at the City of Manchester Stadium before its conversion to a full football stadium.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} Her talent quickly shone through and in 2006 Irozuru won Silver at both the English Schools Championships and British Schools Championships competing against highly accomplished young jumpers.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}
After establishing herself as an elite junior athlete, Irozuru moved to London to study for a law degree at University College London where she firstly worked with UK Athletics head long and triple jumps coach John Herbert who also coached Jade Johnson to the 2008 Summer Olympics.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} Her current coach is Larry Achike who helped her achieve 2012 National Indoor Long Jump Silver and Gold in her first senior international in Bratislava. On Saturday 9 June 2012 at the Georgi Pavlov International Athletics Meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria Irozuru jumped 6.80m in the sixth round, setting a new personal best and meeting the Olympic A Qualifying distance for the 2012 Summer Olympics.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JJHE3PcSiQ/|title = ABIGAIL IROZURU Long Jump 6m80 - Sofia, Bulgaria|website = YouTube}} On the 24 June 2012 at the Aviva Olympic Trials & UK Championships in Birmingham she was disappointed to jump 6.48{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4H8Je7mdWU/|title = Aviva 2012 Trials - Abigail Irozuru Long Jump Women's Final|website = YouTube}} which meant she had to compete at the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
After retiring in 2016, she made a comeback in 2019,[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2019/09/22/meet-abigail-irozuru-retired-long-jumper-businesswoman-world/ Meet Abigail Irozuru, the once retired long-jumper, businesswoman and World Championships debutant] The Daily Telegraph 22 September 2019 improving her personal best to 6.86 m, and reaching the final (placing seventh) at the World Championships in Doha.
Personal life
Irozuru is a Christian. When asked in an interview with Christian magazine Woman Alive how she would choose to label herself, she remarked 'I always try to start with being a daughter of the Almighty God - my dad calls me that. And an athlete for sure, and a speaker. I'm a coach and a daughter, a sister... so much'.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{World Athletics}}
- {{British Athletics}}
- {{Team GB}}
- {{Olympedia}}
- {{Instagram}}
{{British Athletics Championships women's long jump champions}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irozuru, Abigail}}
Category:Athletes from Manchester
Category:English female long jumpers
Category:British female long jumpers
Category:British Athletics Championships winners
Category:Black British sportswomen
Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain