IT WAS ALMOST OVER before it began. The men’s hop-step and jump started with a bang, as Pedro Pichardo posed proudly once his first-round mark, a year-leading 58-10¾ (17.95), was posted.
Not having to contend with 3-time defending champion Christian Taylor — not fully recovered from a serious Achilles tear — Pichardo probably felt a lot more comfortable in the competition. Portugal’s Olympic champion was to never look back, or even feel threatened.
Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango produced a none-too-shabby opener himself with his 57-7 (17.55) season best, followed by Italian Andrea Dallavalle’s 56-7¼ (17.25) and American Donald Scott’s 56-2¾ (17.14). In fact, none of those top marks from round 1 would be bettered by any of those jumpers.
In round 2, Pichardo came close to his leading mark with his 58-9½ (17.92).
After a 1st round foul, China’s Yaming Zhu stretched to 56-9½ (17.31), knocking Dallavalle out of 3rd.
After 3 rounds, of the top 8, no one improved their status save France’s Jean-Marc Pontvianne, whose 55-3¾ (16.86) moved him from having no fair jumps to 8th, giving him an additional three tries.
The USA’s Will Claye only fair jump came in round 3, but his 54-3¼ (16.54) would only place him 11th.
Cuban Lázaro Martínez, the formchart leader, couldn’t muster a fair jump after 3 rounds and finished with no mark.
The order for round 4 was Pontvianne, Brazil’s Almir Dos Santos, Italy’s Oregon Duck Emanuel Ihemeje, Scott, Dallavalle, Zhu, Zango and Pichardo.
With no changes in the placings, fast forward to round 6, where only Ihemeje would improve with his 56-4w (17.17), putting him in 5th ahead of Scott.
Zango tried his best, but his 57-4¾ (17.49) would not cut the mustard, leaving Pichardo with his first WC title after winning silvers in ’13 and ’15 when he represented Cuba. In fact, Pichardo’s first three attempts were all longer than Zango’s best mark. Zhu would finish with the bronze, giving China its first medal in the event.
Pichardo, 29, reflected on his achievement, saying, “This world title was elusive to me. I had two silver medals and tried to win gold and achieved it today. This title means a lot. I am progressively winning all possible titles, from Olympic gold to the World title. There’s something new to look forward to. I just need to stay healthy and work hard. I leave the rest on the track.”
Zango, albeit excited to have claimed silver, felt he had more to offer. “I was motivated to win gold, but there’s not much left in my legs. Looking at the season, I was a bit off my regular performance. I went out there to explore. To manage 17.55m is good. I have the strength in my legs, but I needed two more competitions to jump longer.”
Zhu, too, felt he left something on the table, saying, “I am pretty happy with the medal. However, I am not satisfied with my performance today. It was bit below average. The preparation did not go as well as I planned. Moving forward. I will focus on the preparation for next season.”
MEN’S TRIPLE JUMP RESULTS
FINAL July 23 (July 23; temperature 77F/25C; humidity 44–43%)
(winds ranged from +2.5 to –1.4)
1. Pedro Pichardo (Por) 58-10¾ (17.95) (WL)
(58-10¾, 58-9½, 57-7¾, p, f, 57-5½) (17.95, 17.92, 17.57, p, f, 17.51);
2. Hugues Fabrice Zango (BF) 57-7 (17.55)
(57-7, 55-7½w, 57-¼, 56-2¾, f, 57-4¾) (17.55, 16.95w, 17.38, 17.14, f, 17.49);
3. Yaming Zhu (Chn) 56-9½ (17.31)
(55-9¼, 56-9½, f, 55-8½, f, 55-3½) (17.00, 17.31, f, 16.98, f, 16.85);
4. Andrea Dallavalle (Ita) 56-7¼ (17.25)
(56-7¼, 56-3¾, p, 56-2, f, f) (17.25, 17.16, p, 17.12, f, f);
5. Emmanuel Ihemeje (Ita) 56-4w (17.17)
(f, 55-10½, 54-9¼, 55-2, 54-10, 56-4w) (f, 17.03, 16.69, 16.81, 16.71, 17.17w);
6. Donald Scott (US) 56-2¾ (17.14)
(56-2¾, f, 55-1, 55-8½, 55-11w, 55-7) (17.14, f, 16.79, 16.98, 17.04w, 16.94);
7. Almir dos Santos (Bra) 55-4¼ (16.87)
(f, 54-9¼, 55-4¼, f, 53-9, 43-6w) (f, 16.69, 16.87, f, 16.38, 13.26w);
8. Jean-Marc Pontvianne (Fra) 55-3¾ (16.86)
(f, f, 55-3¾, f, f, f) (f, f, 16.86, f, f, f);
9. Eldhose Paul (Ind) 55-1 (16.79)
(53-8½, 55-1, 45-5¾) (16.37, 16.79, 13.86);
10. Tiago Pereira (Por) 54-9¼ (16.69)
(f, 54-9¼, 54-5¼) (f, 16.69, 16.59);
11. Will Claye (US) 54-3¼ (16.54)
(f, f, 54-3¼) (f, f, 16.54);
… 3f—Lázaro Martínez (Cub).
| * = progression of the leading jump; ¶ = athlete’s best of the day | |||
| first 3 rounds | |||
| Pontvianne | f | f | 16.86¶ |
| Pichardo | 17.95*¶ | 17.92 | 17.57 |
| Zhu | 17.00 | 17.31¶ | f |
| Claye | f | f | 16.54¶ |
| Zango | 17.55¶ | 16.95w | 17.38 |
| Scott | 17.14¶ | f | 16.79 |
| Paul | 16.37 | 16.79¶ | 13.86 |
| Dallavalle | 17.25¶ | 17.16 | p |
| dos Santos | f | 16.69 | 16.87¶ |
| Martínez | f | f | f |
| Pereira | f | 16.69¶ | 16.59 |
| Ihemeje | f | 17.03 | 16.69 |
| last 3 rounds | |||
| Pontvianne | f | f | f |
| dos Santos | f | 16.38 | 13.26w |
| Ihemeje | 16.81 | 16.71 | 17.17w¶ |
| Scott | 16.98 | 17.04w | 16.94 |
| Dallavalle | 17.12 | f | f |
| Zhu | 16.98 | f | 16.85 |
| Zango | 17.14 | f | 17.40 |
| Pichardo | p | f | 17.51 |
Qualifiers: Pichardo 56-3¾ (17.16), Zango 56-3¼ (17.15), Ihemeje 56-2½ (17.13), Zhu 56-½ (17.08), Martínez 55-11¾ (17.06), Pontvianne 55-7½ (16.95), Dallavalle 55-3¾ (16.86), Scott 55-3 (16.84), dos Santos 54-10 (16.71), Claye 54-9½ (16.70), Pereira 54-9¼ (16.69), Paul 54-8¾ (16.68);
Non-Qualifiers: Max Heß (Ger) & Enzo Hodebar (Fra) 54-7¼ (16.64), Tobia Bocchi (Ita) 54-4¾ (16.58), Chris Benard (US) 54-2¾ (16.53), Praveen Chithravel (Ind) 54-1¼ (16.49), Christian Taylor (US) 54-1 (16.48), Abdulla Aboobacker (Ind) 53-11¾ (16.45), Jordan Scott (Jam) 53-10½ (16.42), Andy Hechavarría (Cub) 53-9¼ (16.39), Jah-Nhai Perinchief (Ber) 53-9 (16.38), Pablo Torrijos (Spa) 53-6½ (16.32), Mateus de Sá (Bra) 52-7½ (16.04), Benjamin Compaoré (Fra) 52-7¼ (16.03), Ben Williams (GB) 52-5¼ (15.98); Du Mapaya (Zim) 51-8¼ (15.75);… 3f—Alexsandro Melo (Bra). ◻︎
