by Stuart WeirThis is one of Stuart Weir’s favorite meets, and as you know, he loves the new venue! Birmingham is a wonderful city for sports. I spent years going to the major events, indoor and out, in the wonderful city of Birmingham.
This piece is on the women’s long jump, one of the finest events of the Muller British Grand Prix / Birmingham Diamond League on May 21, 2022. Special thanks to Martin Bateman for his fine photos. Martin Bateman’s photos complement Stuart Weir’s text and we are most grateful for his photographic artistry.
Malaika Mihambo, Muller British Grand Prix, photo by Martin Bateman
Lorraine Ugen, Muller British Grand Prix, photo by Martin Bateman
Women’s long-jump
The women’s long jump looked like an intriguing contest with:
Ivana Vuleta (Spanovic), the 2022 World Indoor champion.
Malaika Mihambo, 2022 Muller British Grand Prix, photo by Martin Bateman
Malaika Mihambo, reigning Olympic champion was injured shortly after the Olympics and had not done an indoor season. What kind of form would she find?
Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, Muller British Grand Prix 2022, photo by Martin Bateman
Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, silver medalist at the last World Outdoors, World Indoor, and European championships but carrying the burden of her country’s suffering from the Russian invasion.
Lorraine Ugen, Muller British Grand Prix, photo by Martin Bateman
Lorraine Ugen bronze medallist in the 2022 World Indoor who has subsequently launched her own self-funded sportswear brand, Unsigned, for athletes without sponsorship contracts.
Alongside Ugen there were two other Brits to keep the home crowd interested – Jazmin Sawyers and Katerina Johnson-Thompson.
There were eight athletes, all of whom had a PR of 6.90 or beyond:
The results were:
1 Malaika Mihambo 7.09m
2 Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk 6.66m
3 Lorraine Ugen 6.65m
4 Jazmin Sawyers 6.60m
5 Ivana Vuleta 6.54m
6 Kendall Williams 6.47m
7 Khaddi Sagnia 6.46m
8 Katarina Johnson-Thompson 6.41m
Add Abigail Irozuru and Shara Proctor to the three Brits and you have five women, capable of making a championship long- jump final but only Proctor (2015) has won a medal. Johnson-Thompson, of course, completes more in the heptathlon.
Jazmin Sawyers, 2022 Muller British Grand Prix, photo by Martin Bateman
After winning the Olympic title in 2020, Mihambo suffered injuries. She was only fifth in the 2021 Diamond League final. She sprinted a few times and jumped three times in the 2022 indoor season – including a 6.96m. Birmingham was her first outdoor competition so we – and she – were not sure what to expect. She jumped 7.09! And in case you missed it, she jumped seven meters a second time!
Malaika Mihambo, 2022 Muller British Grand Prix, photo by Martin Bateman
She said afterward: “It was really good. It was my season opener so I did not expect too much so am really happy with what happened. It seems like we’re on the right track. I have had some struggles with my run-up for the last two years so it’s nice to be back now and I feel at least as good as in 2019 when I dominated. I think’s a really good start and I’m really looking forward to the next competition. I felt strong and the work that I had done on sprinting and sprinting technique paid off”.
If the season opener was twice seven meters, I wondered how the season would end. She laughed and told me she was looking forward to seeing that herself!
She is defending two titles this summer, as World Champion and European Champion: “This is a tough year with two championships but I’m really happy to have the opportunity. I’m really motivated and will be well prepared. I don’t think I will have to peak twice because with only three weeks in between I can stay at the peak”.
Lorraine Ugen, 2022 Muller British Grand Prix, photo by Martin Bateman
After placing third, Lorraine Ugen commented: ” I am just happy to continue to get season’s best and I’m hoping to continue to improve at each competition I do. This is the second one of the outdoor season so I am still warming up into it, but hopefully, as the season progresses, I will get deeper and further into the pit.”
(Please see my separate article on Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk).
