Cuban male long jumper Juan Miguel Echevarría ratified his formidable shape here today at the Athletics Meeting in Ostrava by winning the long jump competition with 8.66 metres.
With such a result, the Caribbean athlete ratified his extraordinary progression, after winning the stop in Stockholm of the 2018 Diamond League with 8.83, 72 hours ago, although the slight wind in favour of 2.1 metres per second exceeded the permissible limit (two) to homologate the record.
If the registration of the record had been approved, it would have been the fifth best of all times. There are the universal record by the American Mike Powell (8.95 in Tokyo 1991), the also US Bob Beamon (8.90 in Mexico City 1968), Carl Lewis (8.87 in Tokyo 1991) and Soviet Robert Emmiyan (8,86 in Tsakhadzor 1987).
This Wednesday Echevarría started with a jump of 8.40 meters, then improved it with 8.54 until he stamped the formidable 8.66. Then he went back over 8.54 and was foul on his last attempt.
The Cuban long jumper began the year by winning in March the event of the indoors world in Birmingham. His jump of 8.46 meters surpassed the resistance of South African Luvo Manyonga (8.44) - world champion last year in London - and American Marquis Dendy (8.42).
With that title, Echevarría became the youngest gold medalist in the history of the long jump in indoor World Championships, a merit that was even in the hands of the also Cuban Ivan Pedroso.
His evolution invites to trust in a good result in the Central American Games in barranquilla, Colombia, a place in which Cuba hopes to retain the first place by countries.
Athletics is one of the sports in which Cuba will look for a better support for such a deed to be fulfilled.
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