Blessing Ufodiama (born 28 November 1981) is an American former

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

er. She is a three-time

United States Olympic trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games. These events include: * United States Olympic Trials (curling) * United States Olympic Trials (d ...

qualifier, with a best national finish of 2nd at the

2013 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2013 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Organised by USA Track and Field (USATF), the three-day competition took place March 1–3 in conjunction with the USA Indoor Co ...

Biography

Ufodiama attended

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, where she won the national

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

HS triple jump championship. She competed collegiately for the

Washington State Cougars track and field The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program ...

team. After graduating Washington State in 2004, Ufodiama took a 3-year break from competing but returned after the birth of her son Emmanuel in 2007 to compete professionally. She went on to register top-10 finishes at the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

for seven consecutive years, with a best finish of 2nd at the 2013 indoor championships. Ufodiama qualified for the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

United States Olympic trials, but did not jump far enough to make an Olympic team. Ufodiama jumped her personal best of 14.06 metres at the 2011

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

, scoring two points in the

2011 Diamond League The 2011 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2011 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the second edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 6 May in Doha, Q ...

season. In 2016, Ufodiama joined the track and field coaching staff at

Mira Costa High School Mira Costa High School (MCHS, "Costa") is a four-year public high school located in Manhattan Beach, California that first began operating in 1950. It is the only high school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. The school's athletic t ...

Statistics

Personal bests

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ufodiama, Blessing 1981 births American female triple jumpers Track and field athletes from Long Beach, California Washington State Cougars women's track and field athletes Living people American track and field coaches American sportspeople of Nigerian descent