Eloyse Lesueur sails to victory in the long jump at the IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014 (© Getty Images)
She diced with disaster, and left it mighty late, but two-time European champion Eloyse Lesueur snatched long jump victory for Europe with a fourth-round leap of 6.66m after producing three fouls on her first three attempts.
It was enough for the Frenchwoman to take first place by 10cm from her team-mate Ivana Spanovic, the Serbian who won European silver behind her in Zurich last month and had led here for the first three rounds.
Only once, at the first World Cup in 1977, has anyone won with a shorter jump but Lesueur will not care about that, for she emerged just about unscathed from what was almost a nightmare contest to take an unlikely victory.
After two world bronze medals and a European silver in the past two years, Spanovic had to settle for second again, but could be satisfied that Europe had taken maximum points ahead of the Americas duo Tianna Bartoletta and Christabel Nettey.
Bartoletta, the world leader with 7.02m this year, broke a long-standing personal best when she won in this stadium back in June.
The former world champion was favourite to win again this time, but her best of 6.45m was good enough only for third.
Bartoletta left it late too, her best coming in round three when she moved past Commonwealth and African champion Ese Brume, the 18-year-old Nigerian who has burst on to the senior long jumping scene this year.
Brume leapt 6.34m and seemed to have fourth place secure until Nettey, Canada’s Commonwealth bronze medallist, went one centimetre farther in round four.
Matthew Brown for the IAAF
