+++ PRESS RELEASE INDOOR MEETING KARLSRUHE 2018 +++
Olympic champion Bartoletta leads illustrious field of long jumpers at INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe Španović, Ugen, and Germans Mihambo, Moguenara, and Wester are also competing Philipp Schätzle Phone: 0721 782045-260 E-Mail: [email protected] With 4,500 spectators, INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe is already sold out in advance of the day of the event February 3rd, but it will be broadcast live (in Germany on SPORT 1): the perfect setting to target the meeting record in women's long jump. Heike Drechsler’s record of 7.06 Karlsruhe, January 22, 2018 metres hasn’t been toppled since 1994. However, sport director Alain Blondel is starting with a field of athletes that should be able to at least give it a wobble. First, there’s Rio 2016 Olympic champion Tianna Bartoletta, who won the gold medal for the long jump, with 7.17 metres. And that wasn’t her only gold medal in Rio: She also won the gold with the US 4 x 100 meter relay squad, thus defending the title in London. During this “gold run” on the Thames, she – at that time still competing under her maiden name Madison – and her squad broke the 27-year-old world record in the 4 x 100 m relay.
This illustrious field of jumpers also includes Ivana Španović, bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics, behind Bartoletta and Brittney Reese. In Europe, however, Španović is currently unrivalled – at the European Championships 2016 in Amsterdam she secured the title. She won titles at the continental indoor championships in Prague 2015 and Belgrade 2017, bounding an astonishing 7.24 metres. In Belgrade she was just ahead of Lorraine Ugen, who’s also competing at the INDOOR MEETING in Karlsruhe. In addition to the silver medal from Belgrade, the Briton also boasts a bronze medal from the world championship in Portland.
There’s also a trio of Germans who are worth watching. First there’s Malaika Mihambo, celebrating her 24th birthday on the day of the meeting. She had to settle for fourth place at the riveting final in Rio, despite achieving her personal record of 6.95 metres, after having won the bronze medal at the European Championships in Amsterdam. Sosthene Moguenara is also looking to take a leap forward. The 28-year-old is one of Germany’s best female long jumpers, jumping 7.16 metres at the Kurpfalz-Gala in Weinheim in 2016, though she hasn’t always been able to match these achievements on an international stage. One exception so far is the European Indoor Championships 2015 in Prague, when she won the silver medal, behind Ivana Španović. Third in the group of German long jumpers is Alexandra Wester. The 23-year-old was German female indoor champion in 2016, with a personal indoor record of 6.95 meters. www.meeting-karlsruhe.de www.facebook.com/IndoorMeetingKarlsruhe www.twitter.com/INDOOR_MEETING www.instagram.com/indoormeetingkarlsruhe