Despite the peaks and troughs of the Philippine athletics scene,
Filipino women have competed with distinction in the long jump for more
than two decades. Since Elma Muros-Posadas’ maiden long jump win in the
1989 edition of the Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines had fallen
short of the title only once. The last Filipino to win an Asian Games
medal was the evergreen Muros-Posadas in 1994. Marestella Torres‘
emphatic win at the 2009 Asian Championships was the most high-profile
achievement of a Filipino track & field in recent memory.
Olha Saladukha Ольга Саладуха is this week's Track Beauty!
Saladukha is one of the world's best triple jumpers. her first high caliber competition in the triple jump came in 1999, during the World Youth Championships, where Olha finished in 9th place with a 12.76m best mark. [1] She fared much better in the World Juniors three years later, improving four places to 5th in the final.
Saladukha at the 2010 Barcelona European Championships. (Photo from Erik van Leeuwen)
The Ukrainian almost barged into the podium during her debut in the European Championships in Goteborg back in 2006, but her best leap of 14.38m fell behind the top three. Despite finals appearances in the 2007 World Championships, 2008 World Indoor Championships and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Olha seemed unable to nail a spot on the coveted podium - until the past two years.
As Olha matured as an athlete, her performance in major events became more impressive. She finally won her first senior title at the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona, thanks a classy 14.81m leap in the final, the best mark by a European athlete that year. [2] Saladukha came tatntalizingly close to the 15 meter barrier at the 2012 European Championships (14.99m) and the 2011 World Championships (14.94m), where she again topped the rest of the field.
Coming into the London Olympic Games, the reigning World and European Champion was the favorite to win gold. However, an in-form Olga Rypakova Ольга Рыпакова and an injury-free Caterine Ibarguen thwarted Olha's hopes for an Olympic gold. Saladukha's 14.79m was 0.20m short of her world-leading mark of 14.99m - good enough for a bronze medal.[3]
Smits is a long jumper and sprinter from the Netherlands. The 25-year old has extensive experience in international-level events. She made her debut in the Paralympics in 2004. [1] Since then she has competed in two editions of the European Championships (2005 and 2012), the World Championships (2006), and the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. [2] London is her third appearance at the prestigious quadrennial event.
The 2003 European U20 long jump champion notched a significant victory last year, when she won the World Cup long jump silver medal in Christchurch, New Zealand. [3] She currently has personal bests of 3.73m in the long jump and 17.71s in the 100m dash.
Fourteen years ago, Marije's right leg was amputated above the knee because of cancer. [4] Four years later, Smits won her first gold medal at a regional-level competition in Lille, France. [5]
Ariane Friedrich's achilles injury back in December 2010 did not leave a void in German high jumping. Instead, it left the field wide open for up and coming athletes to excel. One such talent is Marie-Laurence Jungfleisch.
She made her major championship debut at the European Indoor Championships in Paris. She finished 15th in qualifying, registering a mark of 1.89m - 3cm off her then indoor personal best of 1.93m. Marie-Laurence also failed to progress beyond the qualifying rounds at the Helsinki European Championships, as she placed outside the top 12.
The young German immediately made amends. A few weeks after the European Championships, Jungfleisch soared to a new personal best of 1.95m in Luzern, ranking her 17th in the 2012 top list.
Marie-Laurence has yet to win her first ever major championship medal, much less a barge into the final. Judging by her solid jumping the past few seasons, expect the young German to gradually work her way up the high jump hierarchy.
