David Giralt (CUB) triple jumping in Rio (© Freelance)
David Giralt made a brief but brilliant appearance in the Stéphane Diagana hall during the last leg of the French National Indoor Circuit in Eaubonne on Friday night (6).
The Triple Jump silver medallist at the 2008 World Indoor Championships and former World junior champion (2002), Giralt hammered the competition on his first attempt with a 17.22m leap. Surprisingly, he skipped the remaining five jumps.
“I’m coming straight from Cuba and only slept four hours,” he explained. “In agreement with my coach, I stopped after my first attempt because it was a good one. I was jet-lagged and I was exposing myself to risks if I had continued.”
Team-mate Alexis Copello placed second with 16.85m, one centimetre further than Frenchman Karl Taillepierre.
Nearing 4.60m, Kiryashova eying Turin team spot
Aleksandra Kiryashova was also dominant in her event. The pole vaulter cleared 4.20m and 4.40m at her first attempts, and matched her personal best of 4.50m with her third. The Russian was then disappointed to fail at 4.60m.
“I think the problem was in my head today,” she said. “At 4.60, I didn’t manage to lift my legs in a vertical position to clear the bar, while at 4.50 at had no problem to do it and was well over the bar.”
She will compete next in Liévin (10) before the Russian national championships (13). “I will need to place first or second in order to get qualified for the European Indoor Championships (6-8 March in Turin),” she said.
20.65 world lead for Nixon
Greg Nixon had to fight hard to win the 200m as only 0.03 separated him from another American, Chris Berrian. However, with 20.65, Nixon now tops the world indoor season lists at 200m as well as 400m since he ran 46.38 on 28 January in Metz.
The 1.78 tall and 79kg muscular sprinter gave details on his background. “I’m coming from American football and this is only my third year on the track,” said the 26-year-old (DOB 09-Dec-1982) sprinter, who is coached by Sylvaus Hupburn in Columbia, South Carolina. “I think I prefer the 200m but the 400m is probably my best event realistically. My goal is to make the team for the World Championships in August, so instead of competing in the U.S. indoor circuit, I chose to come to Europe to get used to it. This is a good training to gain experience”. His next competition will be a 300m in Liévin. “Maybe that is actually my best event!” he laughed.
60m provided tough opposition with Peter Emelieze (NGR) winning the 60m in 6.64 from Emmanuel Ngom Priso (FRA), who clocked 6.70 (6.69 in heats). In the women’s race, former World indoor champion Chandra Sturrup (BAH) won in 7.26 ahead of Frenchwoman Myriam Soumare (7.34) and Muriel Hurtis-Houairi (7.35), who couldn’t make up the gap after a poor start.
In the 60m Hurdles, Danielle Carruthers (USA) won by the smallest of margins over Yulia Kondakova (RUS), 8.01 to 8.02, while Frenchwoman Patricia Girard, 40, improved again her European age group best with 8.15 in heats and 8.13 in final.
Pierre Jean Vazel for the IAAF
