Ashton Eaton in the decathlon long jump at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (© Getty Images)
It’s not often that Ashton Eaton is put under pressure. If anyone was wondering how he copes in such situations, the US decathlete gave an emphatic answer in the long jump: with relative ease.
He opened with 7.90m and then went even farther with his next attempt, leaping 7.94m. Officials scrutinised the plasticine before raising the white flag to signal a valid jump.
With Damian Warner leaping 7.67m, it meant that Eaton assumed the overall lead with 2030, 30 points ahead of his Canadian rival.
Germany’s Kai Kazmirek produced the second-best jump of the day with a PB of 7.69m, boosting his chances of challenging for a medal.
France’s Kevin Mayer followed up his 100m PB with a season’s best of 7.60m in the long jump and is on pace to produce the best score of his life.
Athur Abele’s medal ambitions suffered a big blow, though. The German recorded fouls with his opening two jumps and then landed at just 6.97m – 60 centimetres shy of the PB he set earlier this year – with his last attempt.
European champion Thomas van der Plaetsen jumped a season’s best of 7.66m to move up from 29th to 13th in the overall standings. The Belgian can be expected to move up the leaderboard on day two.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
