By Jonathan Hawthorne
Reigning 2012 Olympic long jump gold medalist Brittney Reese hates the cold.
So when she competed in Des Moines, Iowa earlier this season, jumping 22 feet, 1 1/2 inches (6.74 meters), she was disappointed. It was chilly — 35 degrees — and she wasn’t happy.
That forced her to shift her focus to the Prefontaine Classic, where she posted a season-best jump of 22-8 1/2 (6.92) taking first. Serbia’s Ivana Španović took second with a 22-7 (6.88) jump and Britain’s Lorraine Ugen took third at 22-2 1/4 (6.76).
Reese, Španović and Ugen went 1-2-3 at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland.
Reese said she normally comes from behind to win each event, but Friday was different. She jumped her best on her first attempt.
“That was my whole goal, to come out on the first jump and get a lead and have everybody chase it,” Reese said. “I was hoping for a 7-meter jump today, but you know. The weather. It’s cold, and the new system with only four going to the finals, it’s kind of tiring.”
Španović said her performance was “nothing special.”
“I’ve made some mistakes from jump to jump,” she said. “My jump was fine, but I don’t know. It was a good competition overall. I had fun.”
That new system has already raised concern among many field event athletes. Only the top four in the field after the first three jumps remain in the competition. This is aimed at speeding up each event and making it easier to follow. That’s troubling to Reese, who feels for international athletes who travel to Eugene for just three jumps.
“I don’t think they understand that it’s not fair,” Reese said. “Sprinters can line up 16 people and go straight to the final, but we only line up four. They don’t understand how much it takes to come back and jump again.”
Reese said it changes the mentality in the event when qualifying for the final becomes the primary focus.
“You have to be at least a jump in the top three, so that’s why my goal was to come in and get something out there,” Reese said.
For Reese, who this summer will look to defend her Olympic title, Friday’s result was exactly what she was looking for.
“I feel like those ladies I saw today will most likely be in the Olympic final,” Reese said. “My whole approach was to come out here and treat it like an Olympic final. And get something good going to secure a win.”
