Larissa Iachipino, the Italian who has already reached seven meters (6.97m) at only 21 years old, jumped into the long final. Like the Portuguese Agate de Sousa. And like the German Malaika Mihambo, Olympic, world and European champion, the one who achieved it most successfully, a relaxed flight up to 7.03 meters despite having a headwind (-1.3m/s), the best mark European of the year and the second in the world. Fátima Diame’s path, on the other hand, was more complex and for a few minutes she was out of the final. With one round remaining she had made two jumps (the best of 6.50m) that were of no use to her. Iván Pedroso, his coach, who is also the coach of Ana Peleteiro or Yulimar Rojas, stood behind him and told him that he had to jump 6.70m, the mark that would qualify him directly for the final without having to wait to see if he was among the twelve best. The Valencian solved it on the last jump with chilling precision: 6.70m. She came out of the pit, breathed and went to hug Pedroso with relief. This extreme situation is not the first in her sports career. She has had others. The old Fátima Diame, the one who had stagnated in Valencia before breaking with everything to challenge herself in Guadalajara with the best group of jumpers in the world, used to fall apart there. Not now. Now she is one of the best and she grows to continue among them, being familiar with them. Three months ago, in March, she achieved her first important medal, bronze at the Glasgow Indoor World Cup, and that has reaffirmed her belief that she can frequently be on the podium at major championships, in thinking that one day she will surpass seven meters. .
At the moment a little less is required. “To win a medal we will have to jump 6.90m in the final. The Germans always jump with a platform and it has already been seen that they do well. Mihambo jumped seven meters very easily and I saw Larissa (Iapichino) very well. I think it will be a very interesting final and I am ready to jump those 6.90m. “I’m better than in Glasgow.” The floating platform, the raised surface outside the blue ring of the Olympic, is a gift for some athletes, who manage to take advantage of the force they exert on the ground, on the platform, to get propelled, and a martyrdom for others. Diame had a hard time getting the point. “The track was controlling me more than I was controlling it. Because of my running style, I had to change my technique a little in the first steps and go faster. That’s what was costing me. I have been calm, too calm, I would say. I haven’t felt any nerves. I feel fine, although two days ago I had a small accident while lifting weights and I feel a little bad about her back.”
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