WITH ONE OF THE MEN’S 110H semis approaching gun-up position, Tara Davis-Woodhall exhorted the hushed crowd to join hands and clap her way down the long jump runway. The crowd obliged the charismatic Olympian, creating enough noise to delay the track event’s start briefly.
All that racket propelled Davis-Woodhall into what turned out to be the winning performance on her second leap. She went 22-6½ (6.87), the U.S. list leader’s fifth-longest wind-legal leap of the year.
“It feels so good just to have that win under my belt,” she said after the meet, wearing a rubber duck mask in honor of Oregon’s mascot. “I’ve had a crazy season, and to finish out the season with No. 1, it feels great.”
Davis-Woodhall’s win provided redemption from last year’s meet, where she was nursing an injury and scratched all 3 attempts. Then she “won” the USATF Indoor in February, only to be stripped of that crown due to testing positive for cannabis. The 1-month suspension brought on soul-searching.
“Stuff hit the fan, I got banned, and I kind of changed into a different person,” she said. “I was hungrier for this one because I got that last one taken.”
Defending champion Quanesha Burks took a while before hitting her stride, using her fifth attempt to pass eventual bronze medalist Jasmine Moore, who was runner-up last year. On her sixth and last try, Burks improved again, to 22-4½ (6.82).
Florida-star-turned-pro Moore’s second and third leaps, both 22-1½ (6.74), set the early standard, but she couldn’t improve on them.
In Budapest, Davis-Woodhall will look to improve on her Tokyo finish (6th), and Burks’ 4th-placing at last summer’s Worlds should serve as motivation to leap for the podium. Moore, 22 and the American Record holder in the triple jump, will have a busy 2-event schedule in Hungary.
WOMEN’S LONG JUMP RESULTS
(July 09)
(winds ranged from +1.9 to –1.4)
1. Tara Davis-Woodhall (lulu) 22-6½ (6.87)
(f, 22-6½, 22-3½, 22-2½, f, f) (f, 6.87, 6.79, 6.77, f, f);
2. Quanesha Burks (unat) 22-4½ (6.82)
(21-5¼, 21-8¼, 21-10¾, 22-¼, 22-2¼, 22-4½) (6.53, 6.61, 6.67, 6.71, 6.76, 6.82);
3. Jasmine Moore (Puma) 22-1½ (6.74)
(21-8¾, 22-1½, 22-1½, 21-10, 22-¾, f) (6.62, 6.74, 6.74, 6.65, 6.72, f);
4. Alyssa Jones (Stan) 22-¼ (6.71)
(f, 22-¼, 20-3, f, 20-10¾, 20-9) (f, 6.71, 6.17, f, 6.37, 6.32);
5. Tiffany Flynn (TS) 21-10¼ (6.66) (f, 21-¾, 21-4, 21-7½, f, 21-10¼) (f, 6.42, 6.50, 6.59, f, 6.66);
6. Jasmine Todd (TS) 21-5½ (6.54)
(21-5½, 20-8½, 19-6¾, f, f, 20-3) (6.54, 6.31, 5.96, f, f, 6.17);
7. Monae’ Nichols (Puma) 21-3½ (6.49)
(21-3½, f, f, 21-1¼, 20-½, 19-9½) (6.49, f, f, 6.43, 6.11, 6.03);
8. Claire Bryant (Fl) 21-2½ (6.46)
(20-11¾, 21-½, 21-1½, 20-8, 20-3, 21-2½) (6.39, 6.41, 6.44, 6.30, 6.17, 6.46);
9. Rhesa Foster (Nik) 21-1½ (6.44); 10. Alysah Hickey (Or) 20-6½ (6.26); 11. Samiyah Samuels (unat) 20-1¾ (6.14); 12. Sophia Beckmon (InnerC) 20-1¾ (6.14); 13. Taliyah Brooks (Asics) 20-1 (6.12); 14. Titiana Marsh (Ga) 19-11¾ (6.09); 15. Melanie Winters (unat) 19-11 (6.07); 16. Elizabeth White (unat) 19-9 (6.02); 17. Sha’keela Saunders (adidas) 18-11¾ (5.78).