The effort was written all over Malaika Mihambo's face after the long jump at the European Championships in Munich.

Raising her arms, she bowed to the spectators who had supported her in the rain, but there was no smile on her face as the Olympic and World Champion won the silver medal and missed her second European title by just an inch.

Gold went to Serbian Ivana Vuleta-Spankovic, who only made two valid jumps, but flew to 7.06 meters in the first round.

Michael Reinsch

Correspondent for sports in Berlin.

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Malaika Mihambo had the best of her six jumps of 7.03 meters, but apparently overreached herself in the competition.

A television interview in which she complained of breathing problems during the competition brought her off.

She collapsed a little later.

The cycle, her association said.

The long jumper was treated inside the Olympic Stadium, got back on her feet and was standing in a small group near the exit with her trainer Uli Knapp just before midnight.

Apparently she was following the discussion about how to proceed.

Then she collapsed again, was caught and forced to lie on the floor, as observed from the interview zone.

She was driven out of the stadium in a golf cart;

she sat there.

At 12.40 a.m. on Friday night, the German Athletics Association sent the short message: "Update on Malaika Mihambo: After a circulatory collapse after the competition, she is feeling better again." expected in the evening for the award ceremony in the stadium.

Just last week, the 28-year-old athlete announced that she had contracted the corona virus on the return flight from the World Championships in Eugene (Oregon) and had been ill for ten days.

The course of the infection was mild.

On Friday she decided to defend her title.

The qualification on Tuesday, in which she made two jumps, went smoothly for her beyond the fact that she was the best with 6.99 meters.

Because of Corona, she said afterwards, she felt less pressure than usual in the competition. She got tired faster, she said about her state of health, but she felt "fitter" than last week: "The body regulates it now."