When it matters, long jumper Malaika Mihambo is there – including at the European Championships in Rome. She is also indispensable for German athletics at the Olympics.
Shortly before midnight, the German national anthem was finally played for Malaika Mihambo at the very end of the European Athletics Championships in Rome. The world’s best long jumper waved to the hundreds of fans from the large stage in front of the Olympic Stadium and beamed at her phenomenal jump of 7.22 meters.
“It was of course nice to be at the top, also because the competition was so special,” reported Mihambo. “I got goosebumps again, like in Doha, it’s just so nice.” In Qatar’s capital in 2019, Mihambo flew to the first of two world championship titles with 7.30 meters. After tearing her muscle fiber last year and the resulting World Championship exit, the athlete from LG Kurpfalz has now found her old strength again.
All’s well that ends well
In Rome, many German fans in front of the stage cheered about the 30-year-old’s fifth international triumph. And so, with the first and only European Championship title on an evening with five German medals, a lot was still good at the European Championships, but not everything on the way to the Olympics.
Mihambo is an exception in German athletics. When she is not there, as she was last year at the medal-less World Championships in Budapest, it becomes clear how few athletes from the German team are among the world’s best.
Weber and Neugebauer also among the world leaders
Javelin thrower Julian Weber is one of them. The fourth-place finisher at the World Championships won silver and was even hoping for a second European Championship title until shortly before the end. Decathlete Leo Neugebauer, like Mihambo, is number one in his discipline this season and a gold contender for Paris. The fifth-place finisher at the World Championships is, however, much less experienced internationally than the long jumper, who was typically cautious about her role as favorite for Paris.
“I try to do my best. It doesn’t matter what role I’m given or not, and then I see what I can do on that day,” said Mihambo once again, referring to the 7.18 meters of the American Tara Davis-Woodhall at the beginning of this season. Meanwhile, she held the ribbon from which the large European Championship gold medal dangled almost to the ground firmly in her right hand.
On the other hand, Mihambo still sees reserves in training until the beginning of August and thus the chance of an even greater distance than in Rome, where she once managed her first seven-meter jump. “I’m looking forward to training for the next two months because I know that we haven’t pulled out all the stops yet in terms of training technique.”
Unbeatable in Paris?
When looking at the current overall picture of German athletics, Mihambo prefers to look at the personal development of the individual athletes. There is a pleasing level of competition in the women’s long jump at the moment, with Mikaelle Assani (21) narrowly missing out on European Championship bronze.
Pole vaulter Oleg Zernikel and both men’s relay teams are now happy about this. But in the running competitions in particular, completely different performances will be required to win medals in Paris than in Rome, as steeplechase runner Gesa Felicitas Krause, who successfully returned with silver, also predicted.
Weber will also face strong non-European competitors there. After a three-day holiday with his girlfriend, the 29-year-old from Mainz wants to start preparing for the Olympics. “Then even further, even better,” he announced in a good mood and not at all disappointed about missing out on the second European Championship gold. Laughing, he added: “By then I will be unbeatable.”
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
