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Malaika Mihambo, here at a Düsseldorf athletics event in February
Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa
Long jumper Malaika Mihambo has continued her winning streak at the German athletics championships. The Olympic champion and two-time outdoor world champion won on Sunday in Leipzig with 6.93 meters and won her seventh national indoor title in a row. Mihambo increased her previous annual best performance by almost 30 centimeters and is back among the world's best after tearing her muscle fiber.
Only the American Tara Davis-Woodhall, who managed 7.18 meters at the US Championships at the weekend, jumped further than Mihambo this indoor season. It went “as hoped or even better,” said Mihambo after the competition. “These are good prospects for the summer.” The Olympic Games in Paris begin on July 26th.
Mikaelle Assani, who challenged Mihambo with a personal best, came second in front of almost 4,000 athletics fans in Leipzig. The 21-year-old Assani exceeded both the Olympic standard and the required distance for the World Indoor Championships, which take place in Glasgow from March 1 to 3, with 6.91 meters. The previous German best of the year, Laura Raquel Müller, came third with 6.48 meters.
Simon Batz jumps over eight meters
In addition to her best distance, Mihambo flew at 6.59 and 6.83 meters, two of her five attempts were invalid. The 30-year-old just wants to compete at the Istaf Indoor next Friday in Berlin and then finish this indoor season.
Simon Batz from Mannheim won the men's long jump. The defending champion was the only starter to break the eight-meter mark; he achieved his winning distance of 8.01 meters in his second attempt. It was the longest jump at an indoor DM since 2013. At that time, Christian Reif won with 8.06 meters.
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