Uruguay’s Andres Silva produced the best performance of the 16th edition of the Ibero-American Championships, which was held at the Estadio Icaro de Castro Mello in Sao Paulo from 1-3 August.

Aleksandr Menkov rose to the occasion and had three jumps farther than anyone else, topped by a Russian record of 8.56m, to take the Long Jump title in front of his family and friends.

Long jumpers usually don’t like morning qualifying rounds and so quite a few had problems getting their motors started on Wednesday as only three men went over the automatic qualifying distance of 8.10m.

Aleksandr Menkov is one of Russia’s big hopes for a home success in Moscow. The European indoor champion has been a model of consistency this season, but he is far from the only gold-medal contender.

“If a dream crosses your mind, it will cross your life,” is one of Luis Rivera’s favourite quotes. But to the Mexican long jumper they are more than just words; it’s how he has lived his life.

Mexican long jumper Luis Alberto Rivera flew out to a national and meeting record, and 2013 world-leading mark, with an impressive leap of 8.46m on the final day of the World University Games in Kazan on Friday (12).