Davis finds his best form

American champion-world champion often go together, but you normally give some indication in a season that it might be likely to happen. Not so Walter Davis USA who had barely registered a decent jump throughout the whole summer. 17 metres 29 centimetres months ago in Brazil did not seem adequate pedigree to lift a world title, barely creeping into the top ten of the year’s top performances. But Davis had an inspired evening and came away with gold, Yoandri Betanzos CUB repeated silver from Paris and a battling Marian Oprea ROM came away with bronze.

"I surprised myself a little," admitted the American. "But my plan was definitely to win tonight."

The drizzly night was a graveyard of big jumpers. Jadel Gregorio BRA, up in the 17.70s in June languished in eighth, unable to get his big frame moving, switching from shorts to track suit bottoms to shorts, a clear sign he was suffering from the climate. Top of the season rankings with 17.81, an injured Oprea was over 40cm down on his best.

But still the Romanian managed to lay down the first marker with a solid 17.15 metres in round one. Considering the injections in the heel that had been bothering him since the Stockholm Grand Prix, his only defeat of the year, it was an acceptable jump. Originally he had only intended to take one big jump and stake his all on that, but after reflection opted to take the route of injections on the day of the final to give himself more options. In the event he was going to need every single jump, but it did not bode well for last year’s Olympic silver that he needed treatment just to keep going.

The round saw a succession of men peppering the 17m mark until Walter Davis reached out to 17.22 for the lead and a sign of things to come. Round two and Karl Taillepierre FRA pulled out a controlled 17.27 for his second 17m jump of the competition to snatch the lead away. Then came Leevan Sands BAH with an inspired 17.39w. The competition was waking up. Though a fine jumper, Sands had done nothing of note coming into these championships, not even passing the 17m mark. But in qualifying he had only needed one jump of 17.20 plus to revise his season’s best before igniting in round two of this final.

Round three saw a fight-back from Oprea who added seven centimetres to his account to go into the bronze medal position. He may not be at his best but he would go down fighting. So far he had missed none of his jumps.

But then Davis changed the whole nature of the evening. Though chilly for spectators the athletes said it was reasonably warm at track level. Davis turned the heat up much further revising his season’s best by some 28 centimetres for a gold medal winning 17.57. The American champion was on his way. All he had to do was wait and see if anyone could respond.

Down to the last eight competitors and just three jumps left seemed to concentrate the mind for Betanzos who had been struggling to find his range for more than an hour, but 17.42 put him in silver medal position. "I am very satisfied with the medal," said the Cuban. "I am proud to keep up the Cuban tradition of having good results in the triple jump."

At this stage Oprea had slipped out of the medals, but the man from Pitesti refused to resign himself to being absent from the podium. He had had one big leap in the previous round but it was a clear foul. However, he was wound up enough for one final push and in the final round he found the answer with a clean 17.40 that even threatened to claim silver. "I came here not 100 percent healthy so I must be pleased to go away with a medal. I just came to jump, to compete," he said. He was as good as his word.

You may be one of the best jumpers in the world but qualifying on a chilly, windy morning in Helsinki is a different matter. Nathan Douglas GBR, has progressed to 17.64 metres this season, but struggled for three rounds more than a metre below that mark as he tried to find the key to the magic qualifying distance of 17m. It was not to be and he ended up a dejected 15th, out of the final and out of championships.

He was not alone in struggling but others found answers of a sort. World leader this year Marian Oprea ROM covered 16.81 on his first jump. It was obviously safe, but it was not the best idea in this weather to have to stay out in the middle for at least one more jump to make sure.

Not so the next best triple jumper in the world, Jadel Gregorio BRA, who had the air of a man who knew what he was about. One jump of 17.20 and the job was done. Following suit in quick order in the first round were American champion Walter Davis USA, 17.08, and Leevan Sands BAH with a season’s best 17.21. But they were all outshone by a beautifully controlled jump from Yoandri Betanzos CUB who leapt out to 17.40, all the more impressive because it was with a following gale of +4.2m/s when the danger of overstepping the mark is always a possibility.

No one else made the qualifying mark, but Oprea, Momchil Karailiev BUL, Kenta Bell USA and David Giralt CUB were the best of the rest to get through to the final. There were, though, some well-known names who fared much worse. Back in 26th and next to last was the 1999 world champion, Charles Michael Friedek GER, European Cup winner this year, who finished with his head in the sand contemplating a best of 15.75.