An unpredictable wind spoils Manyonga’s world record attempt in the French Alps
The weather had the last say at the special event in the French Alps where Luvo Manyonga and other top long jump athletes tried to break the world record.
Any chance of an athlete breaking the world long jump or triple jump records at a specially organised event by Tignes Ski-resort in the French Alps got blown away by an unpredictable wind.
At times while the athletes were competing it was blowing at speeds of up to 3.7m/s from behind which nearly twice as strong as what is legally allowed by the IAAF for record purposes. Then just as suddenly the wind would nearly die down. The athletes were never sure as what to expect. Competing at 3000m above sea level did not make things any easier and it was also quite cold.
It should be no surprise that it was South Africa’s world champion, Luvo Manyonga, who prevailed in these difficult conditions to win the long jump with a best attempt of 8.46m. The Tuks/HPC athlete’s winning jump was a long way off from Mike Powell (USA)’s world record of 8.95m set in 1991.
Still, Neil Cornelius, Manyonga’s coach, does not hesitate to describe it as one of his best performances.
“Luvo showed real guts. His first four attempts were all no jumps. A lesser athlete might just have decided to give up especially in such difficult conditions, but that is not who Luvo is. He is a true fighter who was never going to give up without giving it a proper go right to the end of the competition. During each of Luvo’s first four attempts the wind was blowing at approximate speeds of 3.5m/s. What made it even more difficult was that Luvo had to get used to being much faster in his approach at such a high altitude. He had a massive second jump.”
Lee-Roy Newton (Manyonga’s agent) reckons the jump could have been close to Powell’s world record or even further but even if Manyonga had not overstepped it would not have been official as the wind from behind was way too strong.
Cornelius said Manyonga’s fifth attempt was crucial.
“We were under real pressure. We had to get something on the scoreboard. So I told Luvo just to relax and ease down slightly so as to make sure his next jump counts. I was surprised with what ease he managed to jump 8.35m. That was the confidence booster we needed. Luvo went for it again with his last attempt. The high altitude certainly took its toll on the athletes. Luvo was physically drained after his last jump and was battling to breathe properly.”
Kafetien Gomis (France) was second with a best attempt of 8.22m. Emiliano Lasa (Uruguay) was third jumping 8.18m and Damar Forbes fourth with a jump of 8.06m.
Will Claye (USA) won the triple jump with a best effort of 17.42m. Christian Taylor (USA) was second jumping 16.99m.
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