Rukayatu "Ruky" Abdulai (born 8 August 1985 in

Accra, Ghana Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

long jumper and heptathlete, who holds a dual citizenship with Ghana. She won the bronze medal for the long jump at the

2009 Summer Universiade The 2009 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXV Summer Universiade, was celebrated in Belgrade, Serbia from July 1 to 12, 2009. The event has also been organised by a range of co-host cities mostly in Vojvodina (Serbian Autonomous Provin ...

Belgrade, Serbia Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 millio ...

, with an astonishing mark of 6.44 metres. Abdulai, a native of

, attended on a track and field scholarship at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

Burnaby, British Columbia Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard Inl ...

. In early 2008, she adopted a Canadian nationality in order to compete internationally for the long jump. She set a national record of 6.72 metres at the Azusa Pacific Invitational in California, and had won long jumps at numerous indoor and outdoor national collegiate championships. Abdulai failed to reach an Olympic standard of 6.70 metres at the Harry Jerome International Track Classic in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, after attaining her best mark at 6.49 metres. However, she was given another shot for the Olympics by claiming her first-ever national title in the long jump at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Abdulai competed for the women's long jump, along with her teammate

Tabia Charles Tabia Charles (born 6 April 1985 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian long jumper. She finished tenth in the final round at the 2008 Olympic Games. Her personal best is 6.82 metres, achieved in June 2008 in Chania. This is the current C ...

. She jumped outside her personal best of 6.41 metres in the qualifying rounds, placing twenty-sixth in the overall rankings. She was eventually elevated to a single higher position, when Ukraine's

Lyudmila Blonska Lyudmyla Leonidivna Blonska, née Shevchuk ( uk, Людмила Леонідівна Блонська (Шевчук)), sometimes known as Lyudmila Blonskaya, (born November 9, 1977) is a Ukrainian former heptathlete, pentathlete, and long jumper. ...

stripped of her silver medal after being tested positive for

methyltestosterone Methyltestosterone, sold under the brand names Android, Metandren, and Testred among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is used in the treatment of low testosterone levels in men, delayed puberty in boys, at low ...

. At the

, Abdulai won the bronze medal in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, with her best possible mark of 6.44 metres. In 2010, Abdulai turned her attention to heptathlon by surprisingly winning her first international-level attempt at Mount Sac Relays in California, with a solid score of 6,086 points. The following year, she upset

Jessica Zelinka Jessica Zelinka (born 3 September 1981 in London, Ontario) is a Canadian pentathlete, heptathlete, and 100 m hurdler. Her personal best score is 6599 points for the heptathlon. She was the gold medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games. Zeli ...

by eighteen points at the national trials, with an A-standard score of 6,150. Abdulai made her official debut for the

women's heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

at the

2011 IAAF World Championships The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

Daegu, South Korea Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

, along with her teammate Zelinka, who finished behind her at the national trials. She scored personal bests in the 100 m hurdles (13.60 seconds), shot put (11.72 m), and 800 metres (2:15.29), and a single seasonal best in the high jump (1.80 m), for an outstanding total of 6,212 points, finishing well in thirteenth place.

References

External links

*
Profile – Canadian Olympic Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdulai, Ruky 1985 births Living people Canadian female long jumpers Canadian heptathletes Black Canadian female track and field athletes Naturalized citizens of Canada Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Coquitlam Sportspeople from Accra Ghanaian emigrants to Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Simon Fraser Red Leafs women's track and field athletes Simon Fraser University alumni