Caterine Ibarguen in the womens Triple Jump at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Moscow 2013 (© Getty Images)
This competition is Caterine Ibarguen’s to lose.
Colombia’s world champion arrives riding an 19-meeting win streak while sitting atop the world lists nearly half a metre better than the next closest. Her 15.31m South American record leap in Monaco, the world’s first 15m leap in four years, elevated her to the No.5 position all-time. Most recently, she sailed 14.98m in Brussels to capture the Diamond Race.
The likeliest candidates to pull off an upset come from the European team. On paper, Russia’s world indoor champion Yekaterina Koneva is the world No. 2 at the moment, although she was beaten into second by Ukraine’s Olga Saladukha at the European Championships and into third at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels. Koneva has a 14.89m season’s best from Monaco, while Saladukha, who was second in this competition four years ago, soared 14.73m to beat her in Zurich.
Commonwealth champion Kimberly Williams of Jamaica will back up Ibarguen on the Americas squad, while China’s Li Yanmei and African champion Joelle Sandrine Mbumi Nkouindjin will be battling for the minor places.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
