Tara Davis at the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 (© Getty Images)
One athlete stands above her competitors, at least on paper, when it comes to the women’s long jump, and she is likely to be one of the brightest stars on show across the entire week in Tampere.
Tara Davis, a 19-year-old student at the University of Georgia, is one of the most gifted teenagers in the sport, combining outstanding ability in both the sprint hurdles and long jump. Here, she is focused on the latter and if she jumps to form, she should add to her gold medal from the IAAF World U18 Championships three years ago in Cali.
Earlier this year Davis clocked a 60m hurdles PB of 7.98, the fastest time in history by an U20 athlete, and in the long jump she has a season’s best of 6.71m, which she leapt to win the US U20 title last month.
That puts her 29 centimetres clear of her nearest rival in Tampere, Japan’s Ayaka Kora, a 17-year-old who has a best of 6.44m. Mexico’s Susana Hernandez finished fifth behind Davis in Cali three years ago and should be in contention for medals again with a best of 6.40m.
Behind Davis, the competition appears wide open, with just 24 centimetres separating the next 23 athletes based on season’s bests. While gold may be a foregone conclusion if Davis produces her best, it’s anyone’s guess who’ll take silver and bronze.
The European challenge is led by Germany’s Lea-Jasmin Riecke, who built her confidence with a win at the junior international in Mannheim last month where she jumped 6.37m.
But the strongest challenge to Davis may well emerge from within her own team, as fellow US jumper Jasmine Moore leapt a PB of 6.39m to finish second at the US Junior Championships and looks an athlete with plenty of improvement left to come.
China’s Du Jiani, Hungary’s Petra Farkas and Poland’s Dominika Lykowska should all stake their claim in the final and are outside contenders for a medal.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF
