Eloyse Lesueur in the long jump at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships (© Getty Images)
Barely 12 months after claiming the European indoor title, France’s Eloyse Lesueur captured her first global medal in taking the women’s long jump title in fine style by flying to 6.85m and a slightly surprising victory.
She opened her campaign with 6.72m, had a foul in the second round, then leapt 6.74m before her best effort arrived in the fourth round.
Lesueur snatched the gold medal from Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson, having eclipsed her rival’s 6.81m marker which she established with her second attempt.
The 21-year-old world junior champion will be delighted with the silver medal, following her failure to qualify for the pentathlon event here.
She improved on her 6.75m lifetime best to collect her first major championships medal as a senior, and enjoyed a consistent series with 6.69m, 6.69m, 6.54m, 6.68 and 6.62m.
Serbia’s world bronze medallist Ivana Spanovic was disappointed to leave the competition with another third place, with her best effort of 6.77m coming in the last round,
Spanovic had leapt 6.92m this winter and was being billed as the marginal favourite ahead of the final.
In fourth place, Great Britain’s Shara Proctor could not repeat her 2012 world indoor bronze medal-winning form, jumping 6.68m, one centimetre down on her qualifying distance.
After qualifying in second place, Russia’s two-time European indoor champion Darya Klishina disappointingly never found her form and could only leap 6.51m for seventh place.
Nicola Bamford for the IAAF
