Maikel Vidal in the long jump at the IAAF World U18 Championships (© Getty Images)
Cuba is the land of the horizontal jumps, and in 18-year-old Maykel Vidal they might just have the man to continue their fine tradition by taking long jump gold in Tampere.
Vidal is the world U20 leader courtesy of his 8.12m jump in Havana last month, and what’s more, he has the championship temperament to produce his best when it matters. Last July in Nairobi he won gold at the IAAF World U18 Championships with a PB of 7.88m in the final, and he seems well poised to back that up with more success here.
However, his biggest challenge may come from his own teammate, with Lester Lescay also in the field. Lescay was runner-up to Vidal in Nairobi last year and he was also hugely impressive when they met in Havana last month, jumping 8.07m to finish second to Vidal.
Japan’s Yuki Hashioka will ensure the Cuban duo don’t have things their own way, however. The 19-year-old leapt 8.05m to win his national championships in Osaka last year and in 2018 he has improved to 8.09m, which he jumped in Yamaguchi a fortnight ago.
India’s M Sreeshankar should also be in medal contention, an athlete who set a national U20 record of 7.99m to win at the Fed Cup in Patiala back in March. Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock, meanwhile, will be hoping to carve a new path for his nation’s jumpers and he looks capable of winning a medal after a superb national U20 record of 7.99m earlier this year. More recently he finished third at the Jamaican Championships with a best of 7.96m.
US champion JuVaughn Blake, Croatia’s Marko Ceko and France’s Enzo Hodebar have all surpassed 7.70m this year so should all stake a strong claim in the final.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF
