European Indoors - Sebastian Bayer’s 8.71m Long Jump

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http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=49680.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRJzYQ_4HFg

MEN’s Summary - European Indoors Champs, Day THREE

Turin, Italy - Sebastian Bayer’s 8.71m European Long Jump record, the second greatest indoor performance of all-time, provided the final afternoon of competition at the 30th European Athletics Indoor Championships in Turin’s Oval Lingotto with an historic, somewhat Beamonesque moment of brilliance.

“Right now I cannot tell you how I managed to jump that far”

Bayer, 22, whose only previous moment of international recognition had come in 2005 when he captured the silver medal at the European Junior Championship, started 2009 with an indoor career best of 7.88m (2007) and an outdoor mark of 8.15m (2008). With three improvements of his indoor PB this winter prior to coming to Turin the furthest being the 8.17 with which he took the national title on 27 February in Chemnitz, Bayer qualified for today’s final with an 8.12 performance yesterday.

Third in the jumping order Bayer was ultimately to win the gold by virtue of his opening effort of 8.29m which itself smashed his PB and established a new world season lead. In the process of trying to play catch-up compatriot Nils Winter (8.22) and Poland’s Marcin Starzak (8.18) set a personal best and a national record respectively. In fact the top-6 all achieved career bests this evening.

A high quality competition by continental indoor championship standards it already was but as Bayer sat out his next three jumps and then fouled his fifth, no one was expecting what would come on the very last jump of the final.

8.71 metres!

This was the second longest indoor Long Jump of all-time behind the 8.79m World record of Carl Lewis which was set in 1984. This was the sensational result of these entire championships in Turin.

Bayer who had moved his home from Leverkusen to Bremen this winter and was said to be much happier with his new base for training has been troubled by injury in the past, missing the 2007 summer with an ankle injury.

“There was no stress for me after the first jump,” said Beyer, “so I felt relaxed and it felt like the perfect jump, I knew it was far and hoped for 8.30 to may be 8.40, but I did not expect 8.71, I was speechless.”

“It has to sink in yet, so I can’t say anything now regarding on the significance of this jump for German athletics history.”

“After my first jump I asked Nils (Winter) if he knew what the European record was – when he answered that it is 8.56m I replied, oh ok, that is a bit too far for today.”

“Right now I cannot tell you how I managed to jump that far, but the run-up and the set-up of the Long Jump was very good – we also saw that yesterday in the women’s event – additionally right before my final jump the German anthem was playing for Ariane Friedrich, that was very motivating for me.”