With tailwind: Malaika Mihambo (Rome, 12.6.2024)
The second best flight of her life left Malaika Mihambo feeling pure bliss. “I got goosebumps like in Doha, it’s so nice,” said the European champion after her excellent jump of 7.22 meters in Rome. “Now I’m even more excited about Paris. I’m very confident that I can go further.”
The Olympic champion saved the German Athletics Association (DLV) from a titleless European Championship on the last day of competition at the Stadio Olimpico. She had only jumped further in her best performance in 2019 at the World Championships in Qatar, when Mihambo was crowned world champion for the first time with 7.30 meters.
“That gives me an immense motivation boost. I was already in a good mood. I felt it. Now I know that I am comparable to the Doha season again,” said Mihambo. And she hasn’t exhausted her training yet, hasn’t “pulled out all the stops,” said the 30-year-old: “I’m excited to see where this can lead.”
The DLV is also looking forward to Paris with excitement, but with a lot of concerns. The silver medal from javelin thrower Julian Weber and three surprise bronze medals in the men’s relays over 4×400 and 4×100 meters and in the pole vault by Oleg Zernikel did improve the German balance at the end. But the DLV cannot be satisfied seven weeks before the first start in Paris, where the competition will be much stronger. “The six days in Rome as a whole have shown us our strengths and weaknesses,” said DLV sports director Jörg Bügner. And on Thursday he was optimistic: “The final day of the European Championships has shown what potential and diversity there is in German athletics. After initially winning mainly medals in the running area, we have now been able to follow up in the jumping, throwing and sprinting.” The successes on Wednesday have given “tailwind.”
Two years ago in Munich, Germany was still the winner in the medal table with a total of 16 medals including seven titles, but at the Italian festival in Rome, Germany was lagging behind from the start. The last time there were fewer podium places to celebrate was ten years ago, but back then in Zurich they still managed to win four titles. Now it’s just Mihambo’s triumph, plus three silver and seven bronze medals.
Alongside decathlete Leo Neugebauer, who was absent in Rome, Mihambo is the only likely gold contender from Germany at the Olympic competitions starting on August 1st in the Stade de France. In Paris, she wants to catch up with Heike Drechsler and secure Olympic gold for the second time – no other jumper has managed to do this at two consecutive Summer Games. Drechsler was also the only one who jumped further than Mihambo at European championships late on Wednesday evening.
Mihambo is not really interested in whether she is the favorite to win gold in Paris or the American Tara Davis-Woodhall, who has already jumped 7.18 meters this year: “With me, you can always expect that I will give everything at a championship and that the competition is only over when the last jump has been made.”
