REECE ADEMOLA FINISHED fifth in the long jump at the World Athletics U20 championships in Cali, Colombia, last night.
The Cork teenager cruelly missed out on a medal after a superb effort, in which he smashed his newly-set Irish U20 record with 7.83m.
💥REECE ADEMOLA SECURES 5TH AT WORLD U20 CHAMPS WITH NEW NATIONAL U20 LONG JUMP RECORD💥
— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) August 2, 2022
He's just produced the jump of his life in a global final!!🤩
✈️A best of 7.83m with his 1st jump broke the record he set yesterday (7.76m)🤯
Outstanding!!
Result: https://t.co/dA52Qxxf3T pic.twitter.com/beNOUq6iZP
Asemola was in third until he was demoted in the final round, missing a medal by just 7cm. France’s Erwan Konate took gold after a World U20 leading mark of 8.08m, Alejandro A. Parada of Cuba was second with 7.91m and Gabriel Luiz Boza’s seasons’ best effort of 7.90m left him in the bronze medal position.
In fourth was USA’s Curtis Williams with a personal best of 7.86m.
19-year-old Ademola had topped his qualifying group with a record jump by an Irish U20 athlete of 7.76m, and made a brilliant start to the final, bettering that record again with his first attempt by jumping 7.83m.
That left the Leevale AC star in second place following the first round of attempts; Ademola behind Cuba’s Parada, who jumped 7.91m.
Ademola’s second jump of 7.65m initially kept him in second place until Konata of France matched Ademola’s opening 7.83m.
With Konata’s first attempt (7.82m) better than Ademola’s second, it pushed the Irish athlete back into third place. He stayed in touch with 7.79m and 7.76m on attempt three and five respectively — four scratched off — but Konate moved into clear ascension on the latter with the winning jump.
And on attempt six, Boza (7.90m) and Williams (7.86m) produced clutch efforts to knock Ademola down the pecking order, as the Corkman finished off with 7.49m.
“Performance wise, I did great,” he said afterwards, as quoted by Irish athletics journalist Cathal Dennehy. “I don’t know why I’m upset. I should give myself a pat on the back.
“It’s back to grinding now for the winter. I’m capable of a lot more.”
Meanwhile, Lucy May Sleeman has progressed to the the semi-finals of the 100m.
Ademola’s Leevale AC clubmate clocked 11.71 in her heat, eventually prevailing as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers. Sleeman is due back on track for the next round tonight.
There was disappointment for Lucy McGlynn last night, who missed out on progression in the the 400m hurdles by one-hundredth of a second. The Tyrone youngster ran a time of 1:00.30.
You can see the full result of the long jump here>
