30 May, 2023

Golden jumps: Florence on the road to Budapest

Mihambo, Vuleta, Sawyers, Bekh in long jump with Iapichino, the full Eugene and Munich podiums in pole vault. High jump features Harrison, triple jump Zango and Italy’s Diaz

Mihambo, Diaz, Moon, Iapichino, Harrison (ph. Bruschettini, Montesano, Quine, Foteinakis)

HIGH JUMP MEN

Two winners of Golden Gala past editions are back in the most important Italian meeting. The American JuVaughn Harrison, world outdoor leader in 2023 with a mark of 2.33 and last winner at the Olimpico a year ago with 2.27, was an extraordinary opponent to Gianmarco Tamberi in the Diamond League final in Zurich, won by the Italian Olympic champion (2.34 for both). The Ukrainian Andrii Protsenko, world and European bronze medallist last summer, but silver at the European indoors in Istanbul last March. The third star is the Korean Woo Sang-Hyeok, second in the World Championships and Olympic finalist, capable of 2.35 in both competitions, already 2.32 this season. If Woo were to win, he would be the second Asian to conquer the high jump at the Golden Gala, after Mutaz Barshim who holds the meeting record with 2.41 achieved in 2014.

Other international competitors are the Istanbul European champion, Dutch Douwe Amels, the New Zealand record holder Hamish Kerr, 2022 world indoor bronze medallist who jumped over 2.34 last winter, Django Lovett of Canada, world and Olympic finalist, the German Tobias Potye, silver medallist behind Gianmarco Tamberi at the European Championships in Munich, and the Mexican Edgar Rivera, who reached two world finals in his career, sixth in Doha in the first meeting of the 2023 Wanda Diamond League.

---
TRIPLE JUMP MEN

One of the most beautiful triple jump duels returns to the Golden Gala, Will Claye and Christian Taylor, the only ones on the field to have already won the meeting. Claye in 2014, Taylor in 2013. The two Americans are living different moments. The former has rediscovered competitiveness in recent months and is back from the excellent performance in Bermuda (17.45 windy), the latter is slowly emerging from the recovery after a serious injury, having yet to overcome the 17 metres. Given the value of the cast in Florence, it will be hard for Claye to seek a victory in this season’s meeting, years after his last win. The meeting record is near eighteen metres, the 17.96 of Pedro Pablo Pichardo (Cuban at the time, now Portuguese) in 2015.

A competition with the highest number of global medals in the entire program. Together with Taylor (two Olympic gold medals and four world titles) and Claye (two world indoor gold and four silver medals between the Olympics and the world championships), the meeting hosts the African record holder Hugues Fabrice Zango, Olympic bronze but also silver and bronze in the last two world championships editions, the Cuban Lazaro Martinez reigning world indoor champion, the American bronze medallist Donald Scott and the Italians Emmanuel Ihemeje, Tobia Bocchi and Andy Diaz Hernandez. Ihemeje is a world and Olympic finalist, three times NCAA champion in the USA, and set the personal best at the beginning of outdoor season with 17.29 and 17.48 windy. Bocchi is the Italian champion, fourth at the European Championships in Munich and before indoors in Torun. Diaz, at the start of Diamond League in Doha, during the first international meeting after finalizing his Italian citizenship, made everyone’s eyes sparkle with a windy 17.90 and is the reigning champion of the Diamond League. There will also be the Indian Abdulla Aboobacker, silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games.

---
POLE VAULT WOMEN

Could you wish for more? The entire podiums of world and European championships will be in Florence. From Eugene, Katie Moon-Nageotte (Olympic gold), Sandi Morris (victorious last year in Rome with 4.81) and Nina Kennedy of Australia, winner of the Diamond League with the memorable contest in Zurich last September. From Munich, the Finnish Wilma Murto, also European indoor gold medallist in Istanbul, the multi-titled Greek Katerina Stefanidi, winner of all possible competitions (Olympic, world and European golds), and the Slovenian record holder Tina Sutej, second in the first stage of Doha behind Katie Moon, season leader with 4.81. The meeting record of 5.03, which was the world record in 2008 hold by Yelena Isinbaeva is practically inaccessible. The Golden Gala hosts the women's pole vault for the twelfth time. The record of successes belongs to Isinbaeva (three), followed by Stefanidi (two). Another confrontation after Doha, where Italys’ Roberta Bruni achieved an excellent fourth place on her debut in the outdoor season with 4.55.

Almost an authentic world final. Together with the previously mentioned magnificent six of the world and European podium, there will also be the two Italians Roberta Bruni, multi-national record holder up to 4.72 in Rovereto last season and second at the Golden Gala 2022 with 4.60, beaten only by the US star Sandi Morris, and Elisa Molinarolo, world indoor finalist in 2022 (after recently improving the personal best to 4.56). The Canadian Alysha Newman, national record holder with 4.82, three times in a world championship final and eighth at the start of the 2023 Diamond League in Doha, completes the entry list.

---
LONG JUMP WOMEN

Malaika Mihambo returns to the Golden Gala, record holder of the meeting thanks to the success of 2019 in Rome with 7.07, Olympic, world (twice) and European champion in 2018, a year before also winning the Diamond League. In Florence, the elite of the discipline jumps: with the German, used to exceed everybody’s expectation at the last attempt, the Nigerian Ese Brume silver medallist in Eugene (also Olympic bronze in Tokyo) and the whole podium of the European championships in Munich, with the Serbian Ivana Vuleta- Spanovic and the British Jazmin Sawyers, who this winter claimed the European indoor title in front of the Italian Larissa Iapichino. Among the participants, there will also be two other winners of the Golden Gala: Vuleta in 2021 and the Ukrainian Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk in 2022.

In her first competition after the silver medal in Istanbul with 6.97, Larissa Iapichino made her debut a few days ago in Greece by winning with 6.83 against the wind, her third performance in career and personal best outdoors, overcoming the Swedish Khaddi Sagnia, bronze medallist at the European indoor championships in 2021. Eighth last year and sixth two years ago at the Golden Gala, for Iapichino this will be a new big clash with the best athletes of long jump, the right placement for her talent. The entry list is closed by the American duo made of the Texan Tara Davis-Woodhall, sixth at the Olympics and already at 7.07 this year (with the barely windy 7.11 in Bermuda), and Quanesha Burks, twice fourth and once fifth at the world championships, starting this season with an excellent 6.95 before landing at a windy 7.04 in Bermuda. Best marks among the athletes: Mihambo 7.30 (twelfth all-time outdoors), Vuleta-Spanovic 7.24 indoors and 7.10 outdoors, 7.17 Brume, 7.14 Davis-Woodhall, 7.00 indoors Sawyers, 6.97 indoors Iapichino, 6.96 Burks.