Mihambo kicked off with a modest - by her standards - leap of 6.52m in round one, which placed her just seventh after a surprisingly strong opening round. 'It was a difficult competition but I'm really glad I came through.'Ĭlearly, she's also a master of understatement. 'That was so amazing,' said Mihambo, who added 14 centimetres to her career best.
Only the legendary Jackie Joyner-Kersee has sailed farther at a World Championships, and she did it twice: 7.36m in 1987 and 7.32m four years later in Tokyo to successfully defend her title. And it was, a 7.30m leap which, when the sandy dust had settled, landed the 25-year-old just one centimetre shy of the all-time top ten.
Looking up from the pit, a smile instantly appeared. Sitting uncharacteristically in seventh place after the second round, the 25-year-old German blasted down the runway as she approached the board for her third attempt and sailed through the still, warm Doha air before landing farther into the sand than she ever had before. Malaika Mihambo landed among the all-time greats after a dominating performance in the women's long jump final on the final evening of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
