Germany’s athletics star Malaika Mihambo has returned to the competition stage. At the indoor meeting in Dortmund, the Tokyo Olympic champion reached 6.65 meters in the long jump and came fourth.
“I didn’t have much of a break between jumps, so I got tired quickly and just jumped into the last few jumps. Nevertheless, I’m happy with my performance,” said the three-time athlete of the year. The victory went to Laura Raquel Müller (Unterländer LG). The third in the U20 European Championships won with 6.81 meters ahead of World Cup participant Mikaelle Assani (SCL Heel Bader-Baden) with 6.72 meters.
The two-time world champion Mihambo had to end the last World Cup season early after tearing a muscle fiber at the beginning of July. After the start in Dortmund, the Istaf competitions on February 4th in Düsseldorf and on February 23rd in Berlin are in Mihambo’s calendar.
Indoor World Cup not an issue for Mihambo
In between, she wants to win her next title at the German Indoor Championships in Leipzig. The World Indoor Championships from March 1st to 3rd in Glasgow is not an issue for them.
The first major international highlight is the European Championships from June 7th to 12th in Rome. The Olympic Games in Paris will follow from July 26th to August 11th. The athlete from LG Kurpfalz is the German track and field athletes’ greatest hope for a medal at the Summer Games. “I can deal with it because I always try to do my best. If I manage to stay injury-free, I’m extremely positive about the summer season,” said 29-year-old Mihambo in Dortmund.
Pole vaulter Torben Blech returned there after a long break from competition. After his fourth place at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, a foot injury, food poisoning and lumbago forced him to take a longer break from competition. On Saturday he crossed 5.50 meters. European relay champion Alexandra Burghardt (LG Wacker Burghausen) also made a promising new start, finishing second in the 60 meters in 7.22 seconds.