ATHLETICS. Tatiana Lebedeva: At the Beijing Olympiad I will win gold in both the triple and the long jump

Today, 31 August, the women’s triple jump final took place at the world championships of light athletics in Osaka. Russian long jump gold medalist Tatiana Lebedeva only took second place in her favored form behind Cuban Yargelis Savigne – 15.07 against 15.28. Tatiana Lebedeva recalled with the special correspondents of the Agency of sport information “All Sport” in Osaka that she had gold in the long jump and bronze in the triple at the 2004 Olympiad, and concluded that she will have gold in both events at the 2008 Olympiad.

“Winning didn’t work out for me today,” smiled Tatiana Lebedeva apologetically. “15.28, as Savigne jumped, that’s a very strong result. And exceeding it was very difficult. And today, as the competition showed, it was impossible. Although Savigne had never before beaten the 15 meter mark, I knew she was well prepared, and in the qualifications I saw that she was capable doing this. I expected 15 m jumps, but didn’t think it would be 15.28. Had it been 15.10, or even 15.15, overcoming it would be realistic. But I was not sufficiently fresh to exceed 15.28 today. This is a serious challenge under ideal conditions with a nearly ideal jump.

- Even from the stands it seemed that your sprint and takeoff were very heavy, as if with resistance. Were your leg muscles "aching"?
- Yes, ever since the long jump the muscles at the back of my thighs and calves have hurt. Nevertheless, the surface here is unique, and I needed considerable time to get used to it. The muscles must memorize the surface, become accustomed to it, so they will react adequately and strongly without getting tired. We would need to train here regularly, but understandably, this wasn’t possible. Moreover, during the competition it became clear that I’ve lost some takeoff skill in the triple. In the triple the first step must be smooth, and in the long jump explosive. So I only figured out on the fourth or fifth attempt what was happening. I didn’t even jump in the warm-ups before the final, only some easy runs. I wanted to save my energy, not waste it. Well and to take care of myself, certainly. I felt painful spasms in my muscles – like in Oslo, when I got injured. It even scared me.

- And did you try to recover somehow? Even so, two days passed before the long jump final which took a lot of strength, after the triple jump qualifications, one day.
- I got it massaged. But I needed a hard, long, intensive massage – like I have at home in Volgograd. Here it’s a little shaking and that’s it. And generally, one day between starts – this is too little to fully recover. Competitions go one after another. Whether you want to or not, if you combine, you approach one form fresher than the other. Or you choose to concentrate on one. In principle, Savigne also competes in both the long jump and triple, but in these championships she concentrated on the triple, having entirely foregone the long jump. She took a chance and didn’t miscalculate.

- Were you expecting a serious fight today? It seemed that in qualifications the Greek Devetzí frightened everyone with her first attempt jump of 15.09.
- It could frighten anyone, but just not me. I know that Devetzí is a first attempt jumper. She always begins very well, almost brilliantly, and always continues with great difficulty, almost never improving. And it came out that way today. She jumped 15.04, and then wasn’t able to improve her result. But of course she’s a very strong rival, and for me it was a matter of principle to outdistance Devetzí. But Savigne... Like I said, I expected 15 meter jumps from her, but not 15.28. Well then, now let’s see how she’ll deal with the burden of leadership, with the responsibility, and how well her Olympic season goes.

- It seemed that in your last attempts, before starting your run, you scolded yourself with unquotable words. Did it help?
- Yes I should try to censor... When I had a series of jumps to one point, fairly mediocre – 14.79 and 14.78, I tried to shake myself up. I said: “Well come on! Get it together! Everything is here for you now to seize the opportunity!” Even though I was getting tired, internally I believed that I could still pull out a good distant leap. It came out, just not for first place, but second. It's a pity, yet another gold got away from the Russian team.

- In principle, are you satisfied with your performance? In the triple and overall at the world championships in Osaka?
- Certainly I’m satisfied. I’d be upset if I had lost by a centimeter or two. But so – I lost by sufficiently much. And in my dear triple? You know, in sport this is a sufficiently common situation, the same as for Sebastian, who loved one distance and always won another. But it gives me outstanding motivation for the Olympiad in Beijing. It’s better to lose now than in a year. Already I’m prepared to let out all the stops: victory in the triple is very important for me, for it I’m even ready to give away victory in the long jump. I’ll concentrate full-time on the triple.

- But do you plan to compete in two events like before?
- I looked at the timetable for the Olympiad in Beijing. It’s more convenient there for combining the long jump and triple. It’s like so: qualification - rest day - final - rest day - qualification - rest day - final. Thus there will be much more opportunity for recovery. Yes, the climate there is quite severe. I’ve been in Beijing at this time, so I know that it’s very hot, but there’s not so much humidity. And regarding the ecological questions, the organizers promise to do something about the smog. But in Osaka it was very difficult. On one hand, one needs to drink a lot. On the other, the water washes out minerals, and I didn’t manage to get enough more.

- You have faith in your golden Olympic double?
- If I didn’t believe - I wouldn’t keep trying. Notice the tendency. At the Olympiad in Athens I won gold and bronze. At the world championships in Osaka - gold and silver. An upward gradient. It works out at the Olympiad in Beijing I’ll win gold in both the triple and the long jump.