by Stuart Weir
Another seven meter jump to victory for Tara
I have written several times in the last year about the way the women’s long jump has come alive. Several of the Diamond League contests have been brilliant. The World Championship long-jump competition did not let us down. It came down to a shoot-out between Tara Davis-Woodhall and Malaika Mihambo. In the final, the top two had six leaps beyond 6.90 – the rest of the field just one between them. Tara Davis-Woodhall arguably killed the competition with her opening jump of 7.08. And if that was not enough she added a 7.13 later. Davis-Woodhall has great skill but she also brings phenomenal energy to the competition. While Mihambo found a series of 6.92, 6.95 and 6.99, she finished with two fouls, presumably straining for extra distance. This was the 11th different competition in the past 2 years in .which Davis-Woodhall has passed the magic 7 meter barrier.
Davis-Woodhall said afterwards: “It is awesome to have this gold medal around my neck; my Olympic gold medal, now has a friend”. She explained that the expectation that she would jump 7 meters did not add pressure, saying: “I’m just going out there and jumping. I have put in so much work at practice that seven meters shouldn’t be a problem. And it’s so incredible just to be able to hit 7 metres as much as I can. I feel like 7 meters is the distance in women’s long jump that changes the sport. And the more times I hit 7 meters, the more the sport changes”.
Tara Davis-Woodhall, and Table Football, photo by Stuart Weir
Asked how far ultimately she thought she was capable of jumping, she replied: “7.40, but I got to get it right. The jump would need to be technically perfect, especially as especially a 5’3, woman. I think the ability is there. I just have to land perfectly on that board.”
She also said that her decision to skip the World Indoors had contributed to her excellent summer: “I just thought I needed a break. It was a long season. I worked so hard. I needed that. And that’s why I think my mind was so easy for this season where it’s just so much joy instead of so much pressure”.
