Women's Heptathlon Long Jump

Dobrynska takes the lead back, shocks others in Long Jump – heptathlon after event five

Nataliya Dobrynska (UKR) shockingly leads the women’s Heptathlon after the fifth event, Long Jump. Like anticipated, this event proved to be extremely tricky for most of the top competitors with only the Ukrainian finding her own level today.

26-year-old Dobrynska who only came to Beijing with a season’s best 6268 points, was a surprise on second place overall after day one, but her 6.63m performance in the Long Jump, best of all competitors, was a real upset.

The Ukrainian started with a season’s best 6.47m before adding 7cm to her 2006 personal best 6.56m. Dobrynska, whose best placing in major championships is only 8th at the 2004 Olympics and 2007 World Championships and doesn’t even have a junior medal in the Heptathlon, is suddenly looking at a chance to win gold here. Indoors she has got a silver from the World Indoor Championships Pentathlon in 2004 and earlier this year she placed fourth in Valencia.

Dobrynska is leading with 5045 total points after five events.

First day overall leader Hyleas Fountain could not stand the pressure of long jump fouling her first two attempts. The best long jumper in the field, with a 6.88m personal best at the Olympic Trials, she could only manage a modest 6.38m with her last jump leaving in a very difficult position before the last two events.

Fountain is a good javelin thrower having set a personal best 48.15m this season, but is far behind the others in the 800m with a personal best 2:16.79 from 2006 – this year she has only run 2:27.69. Fountain is second only 16 points behind Dobrynska with 5029 points.

Similar problems were experienced by another gold favourite Lyudmyla Blonska, who also fouled her first two attempts and jumped 6.48m behind the board with her last jump. Blonska would have needed much more as she is now more than 100 points behind the first two in third place with 4913 points.

Russian Anna Bogdanova jumped 6.46m, only 3cm off her personal best, and is fourth with the same points as Blonska, 4913. But the Russian will not fight for the medals here as she has never exceeded 40 metres in javelin.

Briton Kelly Sotherton, bronze medallist at the 2004 Olympics, lost her quest for the medals in the long jump. She jumped 6.33m, way below what she would have needed before the javelin which is her weakest event. At the 2007 World Championships Sotherton only reached 31.90m in that event. She is in fifth place with 4891 points now.

Another athlete losing points in the long jump was Tatyana Chernova (RUS), who is now in 9th place with 4746 total points. The Russian had jumped 6.78m earlier this season, but her 6.47m today leaves too many points between her and the leading athletes. Chernova is excellent in the javelin (SB 53.51m PB 54.49m) and 800m (PB/SB 2:10.10 indoors).

The next event, the Javelin Throw is another technical event which will decide a lot about what happens to the medals. If Dobrynska stays at her own level and throws over 45m it will be extremely difficult for others to catch her.

Season’s javelin bests for leading athletes:

Natalia Dobrynska 46.90 (800p)
Lyudmyla Blonska 48.29 (827p)
Tatyana Chernova 53.51 (928p)
Hyleas Fountain 48.15 (824p)
Kelly Sotherton 34.31 (558p)

Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

Please NOTE when reading each event report that Silver medallist Lyudmyla Blonska failed a drugs test and so lost her medal