As Iltalehti’s guest expert, legend Heike Drechsler-Bryggare, who works at the World Championships in Budapest, reports on the events of the women’s long final.
The World Cup final of women’s long jump was a show of experienced athletes.
Gold (714) was won by a Serb Ivana Vuleta33, silver (691) was won by a Yankee Tara Davis-Woodhall24, and bronze (688) Romanian Alina Rotaru-Kottmann30.
Iltalehti’s guest expert is a legend working at the World Championships in Budapest Heike Drechsler-Bryggare says that Vuleta showed what experience means in the long jump.
– From my own career, I remember a similar situation from the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. Many people said that at the age of 35, after injuries, I would no longer be able to compete. I was getting better day by day, qualifying was good and then in the final I knew what to do. Then I won. The same thing happened to Vuleta, who returned from an Achilles tendon injury, commented Drechsler-Bryggare.
The long jump and the 100-meter sprint are classic queen events of prestigious competitions, where mental endurance has a noticeable effect on the final result.
In Budapest, additional pressure, or equivalently, additional flow, was given by the place where the performance of the length was almost closed to the stands.
– I think it’s a very good place. Davis-Woodhall, for example, is a showwoman. He enjoyed the atmosphere and made contact with the audience.
“He was in shock”
Larissa Iapichino’s World Championship final became a pancake. UN
For Italy’s young top promise For Larissa Iapichino21, the nervous pressure was too much.
– He did not control the situation. That doesn’t happen when you’ve competed a lot and have experience in similar situations, the German estimates.
The Italian rapped at his best 682 and finished fifth.
– He must have felt a lot of pressure. In the first jump, he had a really strong speed, but the effort was weak and he seemed to be hurt. Then he was in shock and lost his concentration.
of Jamaica Ackelia Smith21, went to the World Cup final as the top scorer in the world statistics (708), but she matured even more than the Italian.
– The pace was not good. Technically, the performances were weaker than in previous competitions.
Surprise medalist
Ivana Vuleta is the world champion. UN
Vuleta has been at the forefront of the world for ten years. Before Sunday, there were three bronze medals at the World Championship and Olympic level.
– He had the most experience among the finalists. There has been a lot of variation in performances this season, but now Vuleta was at his best, says Drechsler-Bryggare.
– Vuleta was strong from Saturday’s qualifying. The pedometer worked well and the run went excellently. He was able to maintain the pace very well: the last five meters came really hard and he was very high in the air after the effort, the expert continues.
In the preview of the length final, not a word was said about Sunday’s bronze medalist.
– The Romanian was a surprise. The pace was flowing and the technology looked high-quality. It’s really nice that he got the first prize medal of his career.
Tara Davis-Woodhall (left), Ivana Vuleta and Alina Rotaru-Kottmann are the 2023 World Cup medalists in the length. UN