Aleksandr Menkov had developed a reputation as one of those few jumpers who can put it together in the big meets. In a field that included legendary Dwight Phillips, the only man to compete in six World Championship long jump finals, and win four and take a bronze in a fifth, Menkov won the competition with a superb jump of 8.52 meters. Then, he came back, and improved on it, to 8.56 meters!
For that, Alexsandry Menkov, received the mighty roar of the Muscovite crowd! And he also is our RunBlogRun Event of Day Seven!
RunBlogRun Event of Day Seven: Menkov’s Long Jump Bonanza
Aleksandr Menkov is an impressive athlete. With great speed, Menkov is a big meet jumper. In a long jump field that had most of the great jumpers active in the world, Alexsandr Menkov blew the field away.
Dwight Phillips, four time Long Jump gold medalist, and the oldest competitor in the World Championships, was having a terrible day, and would not be a factor in this event. Seven men got over 8 meters, in one of the deepest long jump competitions in recent memory.
Luis Rivera, from Mexico, who has jumped 8.34 meters this year, cranked an 8.27 meter jump when it mattered and gave Mexico its first ever field event medal in a world championships! Watch for Luis to improve on that performance, he has the speed and technique to go much farther.
Ignisiuos Gaisah of the Netherlands, set a national record for his country with his silver medal performance, with his 8.29 meter leap.
But it was Aleksandr Menkov of Russia, who blew the competition away, to the delight of his Russian fans. His 8.52 meter jump would have won the gold medal, and then, he blew the field away with his 8.56 meter jump, one of the top three performances of the World Championships.
Just how good is Menkov? This guy has the speed to improve on 8.56 meters, perhaps 8.70 meters.
#moscow2013
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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by Larry Eder
