Oct. 9, 2010
NEW DEHLI, India - Texas A&M grad Fabrice Lapierre set a meet record on the way to winning another international title on Saturday with his victory in the long jump at the Commonwealth Games.
A leap of 27 feet, 2 ¾ inches (8.30) in the second round secured the gold medal for Australia's Lapierre, who had earned a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
"I knew today I had to go out and get a jump in early," Lapierre said. "I thought I can't wait until the end like I normally do because I'm a bit tired. I went out there and put as much as I could in the first two jumps and it worked out well."
Lapierre, the World Indoor Champion back in March, bettered the meet record of 26-11 ¾ (8.22) held by three jumpers, two of which were from Australia - Peter Burge and Jai Taurima.
"It's definitely a stepping stone," Lapierre stated. I've won two major championships this season and I just want to go on from here winning more majors."
England's Greg Rutherford challenged Lapierre with a 26-11 ¾ (8.22) effort, also in the second round, and then produced a 26-9 ¼ (8.16) in the final round. Defending champion Ignisious Gaisah of Ghana earned bronze with a best of 26-7 ¾ (8.12).
Lapierre's winning distance was also the best mark ever made in New Delhi, topping a 27-2 (8.28) in 1993 by world record holder Mike Powell of the United States. Lapierre joins fellow Australians Gary Honey (1982, 1986) and Peter Burge (19998) as a gold medalist in this event and becomes the fourth Aussie to earn double medals in consecutive Commonwealth Games.