- Mihambo jumps to silver - Weber without an Olympic medal
Malaika Mihambo put her hands to her head and knelt down: Three years after her golden jump in Tokyo, the long jump hopeful was unable to repeat the feat in her final attempt at the Stade de France.
However, the European champion did manage to win silver, which was the best result for German athletics on this Olympic night in Saint-Denis, Paris. The javelin thrower had to settle for sixth place, having finished fourth in 2021.
Two German medals
Mihambo jumped 6.98 meters. The 30-year-old fell short by 12 centimeters of Tara Davis-Woodhall from the USA. Nevertheless, this was enough for the second German athletics medal after decathlete Leo Neugebauer's silver.
Shot putter Yemisi Ogunleye and the German women's sprint relay team will go into their finals tonight with outsider chances of winning a medal. The German federation is aiming for three medals at the Paris Games.
Another victory for Mihambo would have made her the first woman in Olympic history to win gold in the long jump twice in a row. The LG Kurpfalz athlete is also a two-time world and European champion.
Tokyo sixth places first
This time, Davis-Woodhall celebrated in an American flag and with a colorful cowboy hat. The 25-year-old, who was second in the World Championships, finished sixth in Tokyo in 2021. Bronze went to her American teammate Jasmine Moore with 6.96 meters.
Mihambo had secured her European title two months ago in Rome with a world-leading jump of 7.22 meters, which also put her in the favorite position for the Olympics. A COVID-19 infection slowed her down in her preparations, but she still managed to get back into shape in time. She qualified for the final in the Stade de France with a jump of 6.86 meters in her last attempt after two invalid ones.
Cautious start
In the final in front of 70,000 spectators, including rapper Snoop Dogg and gymnastics star Simone Biles, Mihambo started cautiously. She had moved her run-up back by about a meter to hit the board better than in the qualifications.
Davis-Woodhall flew over the seven-meter mark in the second round - to 7.05 meters. Mihambo approached the seven-meter mark and secured her second Olympic medal. "Come on," she said before her final attempt - and then she ran through.
Olympic record in javelin throw
Weber tried in vain. The 29-year-old from Mainz threw 87.40 meters and had to settle for sixth place. Gold went to the Pakistani Arshad Nadeem, whose javelin landed at the Olympic record distance of 92.97 meters.
The Tokyo Olympic champion and world champion Neeraj Chopra from India finished second with 89.45 meters. Grenada's former world champion Anderson Peters won bronze with 88.54 meters. The Leverkusen-based athlete Max Dehning did not qualify for the final.
Nadeem shocked the competition with an Olympic record in the second round. Weber countered with 87.33 meters and moved up to third place, but quickly lost this position in the high-class competition.
Despite his talents being widely known, the unnamed man in this situation might struggle to replicate Malaika Mihambo's triumphs, given her consistent success in long jump events.
In the world of athletics, He's a man of many talents, but competing at the level of Olympic champions like Malaika Mihambo is no easy feat.
