Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas celebrates after setting a new world indoor record in the women’s triple jump final on the third day of The World Athletics Indoor Championships 2022 at the Stark Arena, in Belgrade, on March 20, 2022. (Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP)
Untouchable Yulimar Rojas set a new outright world record in the triple jump at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade on Sunday en route to winning an unprecedented third title.
The Venezuelan, who previously won indoor golds in Birmingham in 2018 and Portand in 2016, smashed her own previous best of 15.43 meters when she soared out to 15.74m on her sixth and final attempt at the Stark Arena.
En su propia liga 💫@TeamRojas45 🇻🇪 destroys her own world indoor record by more than 30cm to set an outright world record of 15.74m and claim triple jump 👑 in Belgrade!#WorldIndoorChamps pic.twitter.com/GZEeSoNGKr
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) March 20, 2022
It capped yet another dominant display of triple jumping by the Venezuelan — not since the 2016 Rio Olympics has she been defeated at a global championships, and on that occasion, she still secured silver.
The two-time world outdoor champion also holds the outdoor world record, 15.67m, which she set when winning gold in Tokyo last summer.
15.74m ‼️
WORLD RECORD! RECORD DEL MUNDO!@TeamRojas45 🇻🇪 wins her third consecutive #WorldIndoorChamps crown 👑
Triple world indoor triple jump champion 👏 pic.twitter.com/jV2VTbJ9Nv
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) March 20, 2022
A day after the onlooking Yaroslava Mahuchikh won an emotional gold for the six-strong Ukraine team in the women’s high jump, her teammate Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk claimed silver behind Rojas after going out to 14.74m with her final jump.
Jamaican Kimberly Williams took bronze (14.59).
There was a mixed bag for two other Olympic champions, Gianmarco Tamberi and Selemon Barega, on show on the third and final morning session at the world indoors.
Tamberi, who shared Olympic gold with absent Qatari Mutaz Essa Barshim in Tokyo, was seeking to clinch a second indoor title after previous success in 2016.
But unlike Rojas, the Italian did not have it all his own way, eventually taking away a joint bronze with New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr as South Korea’s Woo Sanghyeok bagged gold with 2.34m ahead of Swiss Loic Gasch (2.31).
All eyes were on Tamberi the track showman, but the grinning 25-year-old Korean thrived in the attention of a raucous crowd treated on numerous occasions to a remix of PSY’s “Gangnam Style” song pumped out on the tannoy.
Ethiopia’s Barega, in the absence of teammate Berihu Aregawi who failed to qualify for the final, claimed an impressive victory in the 3000m, racing home in 7min 41.38sec to add gold to his 2018 silver.
Teammate Lamecha Girma claimed silver, 0.25sec off Barega’s pace, while Briton Marc Scott took bronze (+0.64).
The versatile Barega, Olympic 10,000m champion and a world outdoor silver medallist in 2019 over 5,000m, was happy to sit behind a clutch of leaders as Girma surged, splitting the field into single file.
Girma, closely tracked by Kenya’s Daniel Simiu Ebenyo, ceded the lead to Barega with three laps to go.
Barega slowed the pace and suddenly there were seven bunched at the bell, but the two Ethiopians then hit the after-burners to sprint clear, Scott outpacing Ebenyo for bronze.