Mr. Triple Jump

Well, the Championships have finally begun.  The women’s triple jump was typical with only one major surprise.  Alekhina from Russia, who looked like she was rounding into shape in early summer, did not qualify for the finals.  I had picked her to be in the finals and give the other top athletes a good fight.  It will be up to the veterans from Cuba and Russia to sort out the championship now.

Lebedeva and Xie, from China, were the only athletes able to qualify for the finals on their first jump.  I am more impressed by Xie than Lebedeva.  Lebedeva is a veteran with a lot of experience in major championships.  Xie, on the other hand, has done most of her jumping in China.  She is relatively new to the big stage but jumped well with room to spare.

Savigne took a few more jumps but comfortably qualified for the final.  There is always a question of whether it is better to take more or less jumps in the qualifying round.  Taking more jumps allows athletes to get consistent on the runway and perhaps get more relaxed for the finals.  On the other hand, many coaches and athletes like to “get one and done”.  I believe that getting one good jump in and retiring for the day is better for the athlete physically and psychologically.  We will see how the ahletes react in the finals…

This entry was posted on August 15, 2009 at 10:49 am and is filed under Jump. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.