Vuleta, the reigning World Indoor champ, holds off defending Olympic and World Outdoor gold medalist Mihambo in front of Munich fans in long jump showdown; Klosterhalfen earns emotional win in women’s 5,000, with Ingebrigtsen becoming first male athlete to twice achieve 1,500 and 5,000 double
By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor
On a night when spectators at the European Athletics Championships at Olympic Stadium in Munich endured a brief rainstorm and subsequent delay to enjoy the resurgence of Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, the resilience of national record holder Konstanze Klosterhalfen and another remarkable double from Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, German fans were also hoping for one final moment of celebration Thursday in the women’s long jump final from their most reliable champion in Malaika Mihambo.
But Serbia’s Ivana Vuleta continued to add to her impressive legacy with a second career European outdoor title and 13th overall international medal, relying on a first-round effort of 23 feet, 2 inches (7.06m) to prevail in an exciting showdown with Mihambo and her second-round performance of 23-0.75 (7.03m).
“It even wasn’t an option to come here and not to win, even it’s Malaika’s home soil,” Vuleta said. “This season I have won World indoors and now European outdoors, the only one missing was the medal from Eugene. The jump over there would be a good one for the medal but it was a slight fault. But I know how those kind of falls influence on me, so I just needed to wait those three weeks to jump far again.”
It marked the first time since 1998 that each of the top two competitors both surpassed the 7-meter mark, with Great Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers rallying in the sixth round to earn bronze with a leap of 22-3.75 (6.80m).
Former Florida standout Yanis David, competing for France, earned eighth with a mark of 21-4.25 (6.51m) and Iowa graduate Jahisha Thomas, representing Great Britain, was 10th at 20-10.75 (6.37m).
Perhaps it was only fitting that Vuleta, 32, was wearing a long black trench coat during the competition to remain warm when she wasn’t jumping. The reigning World Indoor gold medalist was almost cast in the role of anti-hero against the 28-year-old Mihambo, the defending Olympic and World Outdoor champion who also won the European crown in 2018 in Berlin.
After finishing seventh July 24 at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore., Vuleta looked as dynamic as ever on her first two attempts,…
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