Molly Palmer takes a risk by jumping into a sand pit that hasn’t been raked and is asked to do the attempt again, eventually finishing in 10th place.
When British long jumper Molly Palmer took to the runway at the World Indoor Championships in Torun on Sunday (22 March), she had high hopes of making an impact on her senior international debut.
The 22-year-old jumped up and was flying through the air when she suddenly realized that the sand had not been released after the previous athlete’s attempt.
“When I finished the jump, I thought, isn’t this a rake? I thought I was going crazy. Then everyone confirmed it wasn’t spoiled.
“I wasted energy and I’ve just come back from a serious injury, so there was a big risk of getting injured again because I’ve just come back from rehab. It completely ruined my jump as I landed right in the “hole” and didn’t know how good it could have been. At this level of competition I would expect better.
“On my second jump, I did a diving spin, showing off my athletic background. But today was one of the tightest races I’ve ever had… and it was a very stressful situation.”
Palmer bounced back and jumped 6.49m to finish 10th overall in the event with Portugal’s Agate de Souza winning at 6.92m.
Italy’s Larissa Iapicchino, former English Schools champion and daughter of 1997 world indoor champion Fiona May, finished runner-up with 6.87m to win her first world senior medal.
Natalya Linares, a representative of Colombia, won the bronze medal with a result of 6.80 m.
“Today I didn’t think about my competitors and I only thought about competing with myself and nobody. I came to jump seven meters and that was all I could think about. It didn’t come today, but I know it will come again. It’s a gold medal, so I’m sure it will change my life in a positive way.”
