WOODFORD Green's golden boy from this month's Commonwealth Games Tosin Oke claims he knew he would win the triple jump after a series of 'premonitions' in Delhi.

The Woodford Green with Essex Ladies athlete, representing Nigeria at the Games, convinced himself that he would win gold after dreaming about his triumph in the build-up to the event, one of the last on the athletics calendar in India.

And his dream really did come true, his second-round leap of 17.16 metres enough to edge out Cameroon's Lucien Hugo Mamba-Schlick by just two centimetres. Bizarrely enough, Oke's visions even told him what the margin of victory would be.

“I had a lot of premonitions that I was going to win it,” Oke exclusively told Guardian Series Sport after returning from the Games. “I was dreaming about it all the time when I was out there and I had a feeling that I would win it.

“I was staying near a Hindu temple so maybe I was getting a few waves from there.

“In one premonition I had looked at my hand and the margin of my victory was written there as about an inch, and two centimetres is almost an inch. So when the guy jumped 7.14m in the final round I just laughed because he had come that close.”

Oke insists he remained unflustered when his nearest challenger leapt so close to his mark, as he maintains he would have simply responded by jumping further, such was the strength of his convictions.

“I thought I could go further. I had a no-jump in my first round so my second jump was just a safety so that I could get something on the board, and then I jumped that far.

“When I did that I just thought 'I'm going to murder these guys'. I was in that zone, so I knew there was a big one in me still.”

The triumph was the 30-year-old's biggest on the international stage. He switched allegiance to Nigeria after growing frustrated at missing out on selection for Great Britain, where he was jumping in the shadow of World and European champion Phillips Idowu.

Oke had already won the African title before heading to Delhi, and he was finally able to deliver on his considerable promise with his second-longest mark at the Commonwealth Games.

There was much speculation in the lead-up to the Games that facilities and accommodation were not up to scratch, with horror stories dominating the world's media coverage of the event.

Oke admitted the athletes' village was 'a bit up and down' but claimed the stadium was everything he had hoped for.

“The facilities at the stadium were world class,” he said. “The conditions (in the village) were a bit damp. The walls in my room were damp, so that's not the ideal preparation. But the food was top class.”

The talented triple-jumper has already targeted a medal at next year's World Championships in South Korea, while the London Olympics in 2012 are also on his mind.

“This win could be the making of me. I know I'll get better and better and I'll win medals.

“Maybe there will be a Hindu temple near the Games in London and I'll get some more premonitions.”