Bayer's 8.71 Long Jump in Turin

thirtyfoot

Sebastien Bayer's jump of 8.71 to win in Turin was probably one of the strangest improvements in an event I've ever seen at a majors. Only 8cm behind Carl Lewis' world record. It would have been like Kelly Proper jumping something like 7.20 in the final.

http://www.european-athletics.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7172&Itemid=2

Crazy stuff but also very exciting that we may have another star in the making. Lets hope he is on fire in Berlin because the Germans will love it.

Pherekydes

What was even more interesting is that the competition was effectively over. He had already won the gold. The ultimate 'no pressure' jump.

Just goes to show what you can achieve when you are relaxed.

ChickenTikka

Interesting too that his style is hang technique rather than hitchkick. I had thought that the latter was widely regarded as the best style for a 6+ metre jumper and it was what Lewis and Powell used and more recently Andrew Howe. Irving Salindino who beat Howe in Osaka 2007 seems to be more of a hang style. The hang technique is also what Kelly Proper uses.

myflipflops

I'm beginning to have some doubts about some of the long jump performances in Turin. The number of national records and massive personal bests that were set is unreal. Check out the womens qualifying and mens final below.

I've heard reports that the run out was very fast/springy or whatever and that seems to be the case. The German himself came out afterwards and said he has no idea how he jumped that far. It's always kind of annoyed me how some tracks differ so much.

Anyway, whatever the reason, I'd say it was some competition to watch live. People who don't attend athletics don't get how far these athletes actually jump. I remember in college one year we marked out the long jump and high jump world records on the ground and wall for Freshers Week and it just amazed people. 8.71 is sick.



Qualification 12:15 06.03.2009
Rank Bib Athlete Nation Result
1 1046 Balta, Ksenija EST 6.75 Q NR
2 1208 Sokolova, Yelena RUS 6.71 Q PB
3 1217 Kolaric, Nina SLO 6.67 Q NR
4 1049 Kivine, Sirkka-Liisa EST 6.66 Q PB
5 1115 Proper, Kelly IRL 6.59 Q NR


Final 16:45 08.03.2009
Rank Bib Athlete Nation Result
1 140 Bayer, Sebastian GER 8.71 ER CR
2 161 Winter, Nils GER 8.22 PB
3 236 Starzak, Marcin POL 8.18 NR
4 98 Gomis, Kafetien FRA 8.12 PB
5 21 Atanasov, Nikolai BUL 8.11 PB
6 127 Rutherford, Greg GBR 8.00 PB

thirtyfoot

ChickenTikka wrote: »

The hang technique is also what Kelly Proper uses.

There are some great shots around of Kelly jumping from behind the pit in the press recently. You can really get to see the height she gains and also the extension she has.

Pherekydes

pwhite587 wrote: »

I'm beginning to have some doubts about some of the long jump performances in Turin. The number of national records and massive personal bests that were set is unreal. Check out the womens qualifying and mens final below.

Many athletes underperformed in Turin, too. And besides, it wouldn't explain how he went from 8.29m to 8.71m. 8.29m was already a PB for him. Fast/springy/hard track might explain the 8.29m, just as it may explain some of the other PBs, but it wouldn't explain the sudden improvement to 8.71m.

ChickenTikka

Interesting article on him on iaaf website:
http://www.iaaf.org/WCH09/news/kind=103/newsid=49694.html

"...... Bayer had won one international medal as a junior in 2005: In Kaunas, Lithuania he took the European silver, but suffered a severe injury during this competition, when he slipped on the board. His middle foot bone was broken at three points and he ruptured two ligaments in his foot.

“A lot of those who saw that said that they would be surprised if I would be able to walk properly after this,” Bayer recalls.

His foot was stabilized with a number of screws and plates. But it did not go well in training afterwards so he decided to have all of them taken out again after half a year. ........"