| Although almost all the world’s best long jumpers have competed at the Boris Hanžeković Memorial in the last three decades – as evidenced by the fact that the meeting record with a distance of 8.46 is held by former world champion and Olympic runner-up Luvo Manyonga – we have not seen yet such a concentration of quality as offered by this year’s starting list in Zagreb.
Jamaican Tajay Gayle has a full set of medals from the World Championships, has a personal best of 8.69 meters, and this year he has already jumped 8.32, Gerson Balde is the sensational current world indoor champion with peronal best 8,46, and Jorge A. Hodelin just a few days ago in Paris jumped 8.46, which is a new world junior record.
On the list are Juan Miguel Echevarría, Olympic runner-up in Tokyo and former world indoor champion, too. His personal best is 8.68, and this year his furthest jump was 8.24. Also on the starting list is American Jarion Lawson, who won world silver back in London in 2017, his personal best is 8.58 and is standard at distances over eight meters.
Among this constellation of Olympic and world medalists who jump close to or over eight and a half meters, are the best Croatian long jumpers Filip Pravdica and Marko Čeko, too.
Photo: BHM i World Athletics
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