Echevarría adds another gold in Lievin
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Cuba's Juan Miguel Echevarría was crowned champion at the Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais athletics meet in Lievin, with a jump of 8.25 meters, reaffirming his status as world indoor circuit leader in the long jump, on a day marked by the world record established in the women's 1,500-meters.
After failing on his first attempt, Echevarría jumped 7.91, 7.98 and 7.75, to place third among the eight athletes competing in the final. He declined his fifth jump, but on the last opportunity, soared for 8.25.
Greece's Miltiadis Tentoglou, European title holder in the discipline, took first place on his second jump, with 8.04m, and then increased his advantage with 8.21, his longest of the day. While Swede Thobias Montler was the third jumper to surpass eight meters (8.03).
Lester Lescay, our other contender in the final, finished in seventh place with 7.30 meters. The record in the competition is still held by Cuba’s Iván Pedroso, with his 8.60-meter jump in 1997.
Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay set a world indoor record in the 1,500 meters, with a time of 3:53.09 minutes, beating by two seconds the mark set by her compatriot Genzebe Dibaba, in Karlsruhe, in 2014. The podium was completed by Britain’s Laura Muir (3:59.58) and Melissa Courtney-Bryant (4:04.79).
In the 3,000-meter event, with a time of 8:32.35, Ethiopia's Lemlem Hailu challenged the credentials of the Netherlands' Sifan Hassan (8:33.62) and Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech (8:34.21), who were obliged to settle for silver and bronze, respectively, with the Kenyan setting a personal best.