Consistent jumping, improving with every attempt gave Ghana’s Ignisious Gaisah the highest place on the podium this afternoon as he outjumped the entire Olympic podium at the World Athletics Final.
Just three of the athletes competing in the Long Jump competition managed to pass the 8-metres mark this afternoon, even though all but one of the first eight placed in the Olympic final were in Monaco.
In Athens, ten of the finalists were over 8 metres, this afternoon we saw just six jumps over eight metres, with four of them coming from Gaisah, who earned his victory for a worthy series of jumps that saw an improvement in every round.
It had looked as though Dwight Phillips was destined for the winner’s laurels, as after fouling his first jump he bounded 8.26 metres with his second to take the lead well clear of Gaisah’s then best jump of 8.11. But as Gaisah progressed with his third round attempt to 8.17, Phillips fouled again and the Ghanaian clinched the competition with his final attempt, leaping 8.32 metres, as Phillips ran through for a mark of 7.03 metres.
Finally only John Moffitt of USA was also over 8.05 metres with his first jump, a sorry decline from his Olympic silver medal jump of 8.47 metres. At the close, the podium from Athens was repeated.. with the major difference that it was Gaisah in front of the three Olympic medalists and he was the only man able to equal or improve on his Olympic performance.
Gaisah set a national record with his last jump for some additional satisfaction: "My last jump was my national record. I feel good because last year I jumped my national record here, so when I was coming here I was expecting to do the same thing.
"During the Olympics, both mentally and physivcally I was feeling good, but I don't know why I couldn't jump well, so I wanted frevenge for that.
"I am looking now to take a break for 1 1/2 months and then start preparing for next year. I am hoping to break the African record."
SWJ
