Yargelis Savigne sails 15m in Athens (© organisers)
Few athletes have dominated an event this season as Yargelis Savigne has the Triple Jump, making the 24-year-old Cuban a solid favourite to defend her World title.
Savigne will arrive in the German capital undefeated in a dozen competitions this year (10 outdoors) and armed with nine of the season’s 10 farthest leaps including the year’s first 15m effort – 15.00m exactly – from her victory in Athens on mid July. So dominant is Savigne, who came to the fore in Helsinki four years ago when she took surprise silver, that the majority of her rivals haven’t come within 30 centimetres of her season’s best.
The Cuban will arrive hungry as well after her disappointing fifth place finish in Beijing last year despite leaping 15.05m. If she succeeds, she’ll become the second back-to-back (and two-time) winner, following in the long foot steps of Tatyana Lebedeva.
Lebedeva, who won in 2001 and 2003, leads the usually strong Russian squad, despite having competed sparingly in the event. The 33-year-old, who in 2005 was the sole winner of the $1 million Golden League Jackpot, has contested the event only three times this season, and with the exception of a strongly wind-assisted (+4.5) 15.01m leap in Madrid, produced modest results. But Lebedeva, who jumped to silver in both Osaka and Beijing last year, is a ferocious competitor, and can never be discounted at a major championship.
Neither Savigne nor Lebedeva is the world leader heading into Berlin. That honour belongs to Nadezhda Alekhina, the unheralded jumper who soared to 15.14m at the Russian championships late last month, producing the biggest surprise of that meet. The 30-year-improved my more than a metre on her previous season’s best, and finally eclipsed her 14.60m PB set back in 2001. How well her big leap translates in Olympic Stadium is anyone’s guess. Alekhina has appeared in the World championships twice – 2003 and 2005 – but didn’t advance from the first round on either occasion.
Others to consider in the medal chase include Russian No. 3, the consistent Anna Pyatykh (14.67m, ’09), a two-time Olympic finalist who took bronze in 2005 and finished fourth in Osaka. With Olympic bronze medallist Hrysopiyi Devetzi not making the trip to Berlin, 26-year-old Athanasia Perra, who won the Mediterranean Games title with a 14.62m best, will be the leading Greek hope. Former World Youth and World Junior champion Mabel Gay of Cuba, who has become accustomed to competing in the shadow of her more illustrious teammate, was just seven centimetres shy of her career best with a 14.59m leap in Havana in early June, and could be a factor. European indoor silver medallist Marija Sestak of Slovenia, fifth in Osaka and sixth in Beijing with a national record 15.03m, has been struggling with minor injuries this season, and won’t be in top form.
Neither, apparently, will be two-time defending Olympic champion Françoise Mbango of Cameroun, whose best leap this year was just 13.83m.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
Savigne will arrive in the German capital undefeated in a dozen competitions this year (10 outdoors) and armed with nine of the season’s 10 farthest leaps including the year’s first 15m effort – 15.00m exactly – from her victory in Athens on mid July. So dominant is Savigne, who came to the fore in Helsinki four years ago when she took surprise silver, that the majority of her rivals haven’t come within 30 centimetres of her season’s best.
The Cuban will arrive hungry as well after her disappointing fifth place finish in Beijing last year despite leaping 15.05m. If she succeeds, she’ll become the second back-to-back (and two-time) winner, following in the long foot steps of Tatyana Lebedeva.
Lebedeva, who won in 2001 and 2003, leads the usually strong Russian squad, despite having competed sparingly in the event. The 33-year-old, who in 2005 was the sole winner of the $1 million Golden League Jackpot, has contested the event only three times this season, and with the exception of a strongly wind-assisted (+4.5) 15.01m leap in Madrid, produced modest results. But Lebedeva, who jumped to silver in both Osaka and Beijing last year, is a ferocious competitor, and can never be discounted at a major championship.
Neither Savigne nor Lebedeva is the world leader heading into Berlin. That honour belongs to Nadezhda Alekhina, the unheralded jumper who soared to 15.14m at the Russian championships late last month, producing the biggest surprise of that meet. The 30-year-improved my more than a metre on her previous season’s best, and finally eclipsed her 14.60m PB set back in 2001. How well her big leap translates in Olympic Stadium is anyone’s guess. Alekhina has appeared in the World championships twice – 2003 and 2005 – but didn’t advance from the first round on either occasion.
Others to consider in the medal chase include Russian No. 3, the consistent Anna Pyatykh (14.67m, ’09), a two-time Olympic finalist who took bronze in 2005 and finished fourth in Osaka. With Olympic bronze medallist Hrysopiyi Devetzi not making the trip to Berlin, 26-year-old Athanasia Perra, who won the Mediterranean Games title with a 14.62m best, will be the leading Greek hope. Former World Youth and World Junior champion Mabel Gay of Cuba, who has become accustomed to competing in the shadow of her more illustrious teammate, was just seven centimetres shy of her career best with a 14.59m leap in Havana in early June, and could be a factor. European indoor silver medallist Marija Sestak of Slovenia, fifth in Osaka and sixth in Beijing with a national record 15.03m, has been struggling with minor injuries this season, and won’t be in top form.
Neither, apparently, will be two-time defending Olympic champion Françoise Mbango of Cameroun, whose best leap this year was just 13.83m.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
