AP, BEIJING
There were plenty of shocks in the women’s long jump in Beijing yesterday with world indoor champion Naide Gomes of Portugal the main victim during a brutal day of qualifying.
Joining the year’s top performer on the sidelines was five-time world indoor champion Tatyana Kotova, who finished 14th with only the top dozen advancing.
PHOTO: AFP
Triple jump bronze medalist Hrysopiyi Devetzi of Greece was also eliminated in 15th place, and triple jump world champion Yargelis Savigne of Cuba lagged in 18th.
“It’s a shame. A final should be with the best ones,” said Carolina Kluft of Sweden, who did advance.
Anju Bobby George of India, the 2003 world championship bronze medalist, hurt her foot on her last warmup jump and failed on all three attempts.
PHOTO: AFP
She said the surface was too fast and “we’re not getting the rhythm.”
“It’s good for the runners, not so good for the jumpers,” she said.
US jumper Brittney Reese had the top mark of 6.87m, ahead of Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil at 6.79.
The runway also took Reese by surprise.
“It was good I scratched my first jump,” Reese said. “I had to adjust and once I did, I pulled out a big one.”
Heptathlon silver medalist Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine was third at 6.76, edging triple jump runner-up Tatyana Lebedeva.
And after failing to make the triple jump final, Kluft saved her Olympics by getting comfortably through in the long jump.
“I just want to jump my best and try to break my PB. We’ll see how far that takes me,” Kluft said, referring to her mark of 6.97.
The 2004 Olympic heptathlon champion switched away from her best event to try a new challenge.
Gomes was a strong favorite to add the Olympic gold to the indoor title she won in March.
She set a season’s best of 7.12m in the run-up to the Olympics last month.
But she imploded at the Bird’s Nest, fouling on her first two attempts before she stutter-stepped during her final attempt for a jump of 6.29 that left her 32nd overall.
“I am not happy but it’s life,” Gomes said.
Only those reaching 6.75 or the top 12 jumpers qualified for Friday’s final.
BOOT TO FACE: Wilfried Singo said that his actions were not intentional, ‘but I was able to see afterwards that’ the ’keeper had a significant face injury Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away against AS Monaco, but lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a gruesome facial injury. The bloodied Italy international was left requiring 10 staples after sustaining lacerations to the right side of his face when he was caught by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo. “I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned, but VAR [video assistant referee] needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “To not give a red in a situation like
Cheng Chen Chin-mei on Saturday beamed broadly as she hoisted a 35kg weightlifting bar to her waist, dropped it and waved confidently to the enthusiastic crowd in a competition in Taipei. Cheng Chen, 90, has been pumping iron since last year, encouraged by her granddaughter to take up the sport after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She credits the regimen with helping to fix her posture. Three generations of her family were among a couple of hundred people watching Cheng Chen and 44 others aged 70 or older in the weightlifting competition. In the three-round event, Cheng Chen lifted as much as
Zach LaVine on Thursday scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 upset victory against defending NBA champions the Boston Celtics, while LeBron James once again made history. LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 for the season. “We’re a good team,” LaVine said. “We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group.” Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls, while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to rally past
Teenage sensation Luke “The Nuke” Littler on Saturday set a tournament record with a 140.91 set average as he secured a second-round win in the PDC World Darts Championship with a 3-1 victory over fellow Englishman Ryan Meikle late. The 17-year-old came close to winning the World Championship in January, but lost in the final to Luke Humphries. Now, he has started the latest edition on a high note. Tournament favorite Littler fired in four maximum 180s, while winning three consecutive legs in 11, 10 and 11 darts, setting a record set average and finishing with an overall average of 100.85. “It was
RSS