Following her two-year hiatus of 2014-15, the Brittney Reese world-title-winning bandwagon is gathering momentum once again.
First time round, from 2009 to 2013, the all-conquering US long jumper claimed a world title five years in succession: outdoors in 2009, indoors in 2010, outdoors in 2011, indoors in 2012 and outdoors in 2013. This time, the 31-year-old has two in a row, following victories on home soil at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 and the IAAF World Championships London 2017.
Including her 2012 Olympic success in London, victory in Birmingham would make it a staggering nine global gold medals in the space of 10 years for Reese. The pride of Gulfport, Mississippi, topped the 2018 world list with a winning 6.88m leap at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque on 18 February but has since been knocked down to third spot by European indoor champion Ivana Spanovic and the burgeoning Swede Khaddi Sagnia.
Competing at the Serbian Open Meeting in Belgrade on 21 February, Spanovic uncorked a 6.93m effort. In Portland two years ago, the 27-year-old Serb had world indoor gold in her grasp until the penultimate jump of the final when her best of 7.07m was eclipsed by a 7.22m championship record from Reece. Further motivation could be provided by the fact that she missed out on a medal in a sixth successive global championship by a tantalising one centimetre at the World Championships in London seven months ago.
At the IAAF World Indoor Tour finale in Glasgow, however, Spanovic finished down in third place with 6.81m. Sagnia, who jumped 6.85m in Gavle on 17 February, triumphed with 6.92m, equalling the Swedish record set by Carolina Kluft en route to world indoor bronze in Budapest in 2004. Like Kluft, the 23-year-old is a Swede of many talents – a heptathlete and a former Youth Olympic triple jump champion.
Second place in Glasgow with 6.83m secured the World Indoor Tour title and a Birmingham wild card for Germany’s Sosthene Moguenara-Taroum.
