DPA/Beijing
The next sprint duel between Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin at the World Championships in the 200m today is under serious threat of being upstaged by a triple jump showdown on the same night in which the world record could fall.
Season leader Pablo Pedro Pichardo of Cuba and American Olympic champion Christian Taylor both said after yesterday's qualifying that their only aim is the gold medal.
And given the way they have been pushing themselves all season, it is not out of the question that Jonathan Edwards’ record of 18.29m from the 1995 worlds could be history in the process.
Pichardo leads the season with 18.08m and Taylor has 18.06m. They gave a first taste of what can happen when at the meet in Doha Pichardo won with 18.06m and Taylor was second with 18.04m.
And with gold beckoning it could push each man just the few extra centimetres—just as Mike Powell bettered the long jump record in the epic 1991 Worlds showdown with Carl Lewis to 8.95m.
“Gold is the goal,” Pichardo said, adding about the world record: “I don’t want to talk so much about it because it may bring bad luck, but I think it is possible.”
Taylor said that 18m is becoming the standard now and that “I am going for gold here. I can not go with any other medal around my neck.”
Pichardo needed all three qualifying jumps to advance with a final attempt of 17.43m while Taylor advanced with 17.28m.
However, qualifying was in mid-morning while the final is in the evening when results are normally much better.
Pichardo is just 22 and already has a worlds silver from 2013 behind Frenchman Teddy Tamgho who is out injured this time around.
Taylor is 25 and has the 2011 world title plus the Olympic gold in 2012. The two have huge respect for each other as they push each other to new heights.
“This year has been a blessing in itself. I’m mentally tough and I have competitors like Pichardo who are pushing me every time I step on the track,” he said last week.
“I’m a competitor. I feel like I’m a lion at heart. When I’m challenged, I step up to the plate and 18m has come.”
Taylor has improved his results thanks to changing the take-off leg last year, but that switch was a big challenge.
“It was extremely difficult. The toughest part was more mentally than physically because in triple jump, we bound off of left foot and right foot all the time. But to do it with speed was the most difficult part,” he said.
Today, he can get the first big reward for it in what he expects to be “a spectacular competition”—that is if Pichardo lets him.
