Malaika Mihambo has been infected with the corona virus. It is uncertain whether she will be able to take part in the home European Athletics Championships in Munich (August 15-21).
After her quarantine ended, the defending champion traveled to the German team’s training camp in Erding on Tuesday. Mihambo wants to make a short-term decision about her start after her training deficit.
“I got infected with Corona after the World Cup. It was a mild course, but I felt tired and listless and didn’t train for ten days,” said Mihambo. However, preparing for a competition, as Mihambo was used to, was out of the question.
Only recently, said Mihambo, did she complete her first light strength training session. Previously, she had last trained before the World Cup. “That was quite a while ago and you noticed that in training.”
“Was in great shape”
The long jump qualification is on August 16th, the final two days later. “I was so looking forward to the European Championships, I was in great shape and I wanted to show at the European Championships that I can jump even further this year than in Eugene”said the Olympic champion, who defended her title at the World Championships with 7.12 m. “Despite the forced break and the lack of training, I will try to start and do my best, knowing full well that I will probably not be able to build on Eugene’s level of performance.”
Should Mihambo, who has been unbeaten in major outdoor events since her EM triumph in Berlin in 2018, fail, it would be a painful loss for the German athletics team, which was recently badly battered. Only Germany’s Sportswoman of the Year and the women’s sprint relay had won medals in Eugene.