Long jump Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo missed another huge jump four days after her dream start to the World Cup season.
At her fourth meeting start in Dessau, the 28-year-old won as expected for the fourth time, but remained well below her top distance of 7.09 m from the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham. 6.49 m in the sixth attempt was enough for Mihambo for a sovereign victory.
“The competition was very difficult. There were only seven of us and we jumped in chords. That was exhausting, you get lactated and can’t jump far anymore,” she told “MDR”: “It was a very good long jump Endurance training session.”
In 2019, Mihambo set a meeting record of 7.05 m in Dessau. After her previous victories there in 2019, 2020 and 2021, she then won an international title.
The former javelin world champion Johannes Vetter did not appear in Dessau for a short time because of an injury while throwing in. In the previous year, the sports soldier had screwed the meeting record to 93.20 m, this year he did not get past 85.64 m.
“There are currently too many small physical problems,” said Vetter after the competition, which Olympic fourth-placed Julian Weber (Mainz) won with 85.02 m, the MDR: “It makes it difficult for me to throw free.” He now wants to see from week to week how things are going without taking any risks. “There is too much to do for that this year,” says Vetter.
The athletics season has a lot going on this year. In the summer, the World Championships in Eugene/USA (July 15th to 24th) and the European Championships in Munich (August 15th to 21st) are coming up in quick succession.