World Indoor champion Tatyana Lebedeva heads a quintet of triple jumping record breakers who have all leapt 15 metres or more in one of the season’s highest quality events.
Lebedeva has carried her magnificent indoor form – topped by two World Championship golds and the World record of 15.36 – into the outdoor season. The 28 year-old Russian broke her own national record when she leapt 15.34 into a 1.5 headwind in Iraklio, boding well for her next trip to Greece.
She is also unbeaten in 11 finals and has won her two other outdoor Triple Jump competitions in 2004, with 15.23 and 15.33. The silver medallist from Sydney and reigning World champion, Lebedeva is aiming for a unique Olympic double as she also heads the Long Jump rankings. The Triple Jump will come first in Athens, on Monday 23rd, leaving her four days rest before the Long Jump final.
Her main rivals appear to be the Cuban-cum-Sudanese Yamile Aldama, who set a new African record of 15.28 in Linz at the beginning of August, and claimed afterwards she was in shape to break the World record; Trecia Smith, who jumped to a Jamaican and equal Commonwealth record of 15.16 in the same meeting; the Cuban-born Magdelin Martinez, whose 15.03 jump in Rome was a new Italian record; and Kéné Ndoye, who leapt to a Senegalese record of 15.00 when finishing second to Lebedeva in Iraklio.
Martinez also jumped 15.24 with the assistance of Sestriere’s altitude and a tail wind of +4.2 on 1 August, while Aldama has exceeded 14.80 in all her outdoor competitions.
Francoise Mbango was second to Lebedeva in last year’s Paris final, and the triple jumper from Cameroon is showing good form again this season. Her best effort is 14.85 from Lausanne, a jump matched by the second Russian, Anna Pyatykh.
Four others have leapt 14.65 or better: Ukraine’s Olympic bronze medallist Yeleneva Govorova (14.78); Baya Rahouli (14.67, an Algerian record); World Indoor bronze medallist Hrysopiyi Devetzi of Greece (14.65); and Russia’s Viktoriya Gurova (14.65). Devetzi also leapt 14.81 when finishing second in the European Cup, with marginal wind-assistance of +2.1.
MB
