LONG jumper Ngonidzashe Makusha continued his preparations for next month’s World Indoor Championships with a commendable third place finish at the Russian Winter indoor meeting in Moscow on Sunday.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO SPORTS REPORTER
The US-based Zimbabwean track and field star, who had won his previous two meetings in France and in the US, struggled to produce his best in the Russian Winter as he settled for third position with a best leap of 7,88m.
Alexandr Menkov from Russia, who won the 2013 IAAF World Championships, last August, emerged triumphant with a 2014 world lead of 8,30m ahead of Portugal’s Marcos Chuva who finished in second position with 7,93m.
Menkov, who will be Makusha’s major rival at the IAAF World Indoors in Poland, also equalled the meeting record set by his compatriot Vitaly Shkurlatov in 2000. “The (8,30m) jump came in the third round and felt surprisingly easy,” Menkov, who was making his 2014 debut, told the IAAF website.
“In the warm up, I felt pain in my groin and I even considered if I should compete, but the pain was not too sharp, and I decided to jump.
Keep Reading
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
“This winter, I am doing mostly light training, firstly because of this small injury, and secondly because recently I have been getting lots of invitations to various public events. There has been almost no time to work out so I am really happy with an 8,30m jump in such circumstances,” Menkov said.