by Stuart Weir
The long jump is one of the hottest events in 2025, especially on the women’s side. Tara Davis-Woodhall, Malaika Mihambo, Larisa Iapichino, Jazmin Sawyers, Claire Bryant have all contributed to making the long jump an event to watch this season!
Stuart Weir, focusing on the hot NIKE Pre Classic, gives us the story of the long jump this season!
The women’s long jump is on fire!
In Stockholm, Tara Davis-Woodhall won with 7.05 with Larissa Iapichino second with 6.90. 3rd, 4th and 5th places were decided by two centimeters. Third was Jasmine Moore 6.76, then Malaika Mihambo 6.75 and Claire Bryant 6.74.
Then last week I was writing about the European teams championship in Madrid where Iapichino’s fifth round 6.92 overtook the early leader Malaika Mihambo (6.84). It was great too to see another 7-meter jumper back, Jazmin Sawyers jumping 6.75 after 20 months out with injury. Incidentally in the men’s competition in Madrid there were four men over 8 meters too!
Then in Eugene it came down to the final three with their extra jump. Mihambo leading with her fourth round 7.01, opted not to take our final jump – remember it’s leader goes first. Davis-Woodhall took her final jump. She knew it was good, but how good – 7.07 good and she was the Pre long jump winner. Claire Bryant was third on 6.80,
A magnanimous Mihambo said afterwards: “I was feeling it in my leg, so I didn’t want to overdo it today because it’s not about today, it’s about the World Championships in September, so I just kept it cool and just went for it and maybe you beat the No. 1, and maybe not. Today I got second, so I’m very proud. I’ve been competing for such a long time and still have to pull it together again and again and be even better, so I think the competition is really on, and you have to really give it your best, and that’s what I’m in it for.”
Davis-Woodhall’s excitement shone through her words: “It was incredible, that’s what competition is about. I haven’t been the last jumper in a long time, since the new order, so it was really good to have all eyes on me and put myself under that pressure. I loved it. You have to have a good competition to excite the crowd.. You have to have that dynamic of ‘who’s gonna win? Who’s gonna win?’ and when people say field events are boring – was that boring to you? I was all over the place on this runway. I’m trying to figure some new things out. I’ve got so much more speed, so much more power. 7.07, I’m OK with it. Another season’s best, I’m stepping up two centimeters further, I can’t complain. This is insane, the crowd was silent when they were waiting for that jump, and that was perfection. The energy, is here. You’re cheering for everyone that comes out. This is one of the most knowledgable stadiums ever.”
Remember World Athletics had this great idea of doing away with the board – and the skill of hitting the board – because no jumps made the long jump boring. I think we can put that idea to bed. As Tara said: was that boring?
And remember you heard it first on RunBlogRun: Tara Davis-Woodhall’s secret training regime – table football. And I can tell you from first hand experience the table football isn’t boring either if TDW is playing it!
