THE ONLY Paris medalist in the triple jump, Pedro Pichardo bounced out to 56-6½ (17.23) on his first attempt. As it turned out, he could have stopped there and still flown home with his third Diamond League title. At the end of that first round, his closest pursuer was Germany’s Max Heß, who had been 7th in the Olympic final. He opened up with a 55-2¾ (16.83).
Round 2 saw Pichardo improve to 56-10¼ (17.33). Moving into 3rd with a 53-10¼ (16.41) was reigning world champion Hugues Fabrice Zango. It was a position he wouldn’t break out of.
As Pichardo passed the next two rounds, suspecting that he had already done enough, Heß hit his best of 56-5 ¼ (17.20) in round 3. The final rounds failed to produce much drama. Pichardo closed the day with a foul and a 55-11¼ (17.05). Heß hit 56-2 ½ (17.13) on his last jump, and Zango improved to 55-11¼.
Said the victor, “If you ask me if I would trade this DL trophy for a gold medal in Paris, I would say no. These are different circumstances. I lost the gold medal in Paris by only 2cm, but that’s sport. I don´t usually look back: I only look forward.”
Zango said he was not unhappy with his day: “I have a great smile on my face, because jumping 17-meters to close off the season is great. This proves that I’m on the right path.”
Results
1. Pedro Pichardo (Por) 56-10¼ (17.33) (56-6½, 56-10¼, p, p, f, 55-11¼) (17.23, 17.33, p, p, f, 17.05); 2. Max Heß (Ger) 56-5¼ (17.20); 3. Hugues Fabrice Zango (BF) 55-11¼ (17.05); 4. Almir dos Santos (Bra) 55-1 (16.79); 5. Lázaro Martínez (Cub) 53-3 (16.23); 6. Jean-Marc Pontvianne (Fra) 52-6½ (16.01).
