Fabrice Lapierre defends World Athletic Final long jump title
Sep 13, 2009 | Track and Field
Sept. 13, 2009
Thessaloniki, Greece - Soaring to a wind-aided distance of 27-4 (8.33) on his final long jump attempt propelled Texas A&M graduate Fabrice Lapierre from seventh place to first as he defended his title at the World Athletics Final on Sunday evening.
"I'm very happy," Lapierre said. "I came here to jump 8.40. I knew that I would have a chance to win with that distance. The level of competition is very high right now in this event and it will become higher as we get closer to the 2012 Olympics."
On the track, A&M volunteer assistant coach Wallace Spearmon placed second in the 200 behind world record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica. Spearmon recorded a time of 20.21 seconds to earn $20,000 as the runner-up while Bolt matched the meet record of 19.68.
In claiming the $30,000 top prize, Lapierre defeated a field of eight elite long jumpers, including current and three-time World Champion Dwight Phillips, who led the competition with a 27-0.5 (8.24) until the fourth and final round. Phillips had shared the lead with South Africa's Godfrey Mokoena during the first two rounds as both recorded the same distances of 26-8.25 (8.13) and 26-8.5 (8.14).
Normally there are six rounds in a long jump event, but during the World Athletic Final, which wraps up the Grand Prix season, field events are limited to four attempts.
Lapierre progressed in each stanza, opening with a 24-11 (7.59) and then improving to 25-7.25 (7.80). A mark of 25-8.75 (7.84) in the third round had Lapierre currently in third place. However, four of the next five jumpers also improved that round, pushing Lapierre back to sixth place.
Before his fourth jump, Lapierre fell into seventh place as Salim Sdiri of France reached a mark of 25-11 (7.90) to slide into sixth.
After taking over the lead with his 27-4 leap, Lapierre still had to wait for five more jumpers. None of the next three were able to get over 26-3 (8 meters). The final two attempts, though, belonged to Mokoena, the silver medalist at the 2008 Olympics and 2009 World Championships, and Phillips.
Mokoena improved to 26-9.75 (8.17) and secured third place. Phillips matched his opening round effort of 26-8.25 (8.13) and remained in second.
Among the 32 jumps taken in the event, most athletes dealt with minimal head wind. Lapierre took advantage of the only wind-assisted attempt that measured over the legal 2.0 meters per second. His winning leap had a tailwind of 2.4, while the next best reading was 1.6 along with a pair of 1.5s.
This marked the sixth victory of the season for Lapierre, which started with an indoor win in College Station and included a fourth-place effort at the World Championships in Berlin. On the Grand Prix circuit Lapierre recorded three wins prior to his World Athletic Final victory, placed second once, had five third-place efforts and finished fourth twice.
