{"id":696,"date":"2015-06-13T19:11:14","date_gmt":"2015-06-13T19:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/new-york-nettey-jumps-meeting-record-perkovic-stays-flawless\/"},"modified":"2015-06-13T19:11:14","modified_gmt":"2015-06-13T19:11:14","slug":"new-york-nettey-jumps-meeting-record-perkovic-stays-flawless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/new-york-nettey-jumps-meeting-record-perkovic-stays-flawless\/","title":{"rendered":"New York: Nettey Jumps Meeting Record, Perkovic Stays Flawless"},"content":{"rendered":"
Canada\u2019s Christabel Nettey captured her first IAAF Diamond League victory, Blanka Vlasic and Ruth Beitia shared a meeting record, while Vitezslav Vesely and Sandra Perkovic extended their Diamond Race leads at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York on Saturday (13).<\/div>\n
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In the women\u2019s long jump, the leader changed at least five times throughout the competition with Nettey, British record-holder Shara Proctor and USA\u2019s Funmi Jimoh and Tianna Bartoletta all in the mix.<\/div>\n
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Jimoh was the strongest in fighting a strong headwind in the early rounds. She leapt to 6.50m (-2.4m\/s) on her first jump. Proctor overtook the top position in the second round with 6.54m only to concede it to Nettey, who jumped 6.59m on her third attempt.<\/div>\n
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The Briton was back in the lead with a 6.66m jump in the fourth round, but Nettey kept going farther with every attempt. She improved Janay DeLoach-Soukup\u2019s meeting record of 6.79m twice, posting 6.87m in the fourth round and 6.92m into a -1.3m\/s headwind in the fifth.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe conditions were tricky today, we had to deal with a headwind,\u201d said Nettey. \u201cIn the first two attempts, I just wasn\u2019t hitting the board, and it was a little frustrating. I was just trying to keep my composure and stay focused. Luckily, after the second round, the wind calmed a little bit.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Nettey, who emerged in the world elite this season, explained that in 2014, her first post-collegiate season, she was trying to adjust to training as a full-time athlete, while this season \u201cthings started to click naturally\u201d in competition.<\/div>\n
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Nettey\u2019s fellow world leader Tianna Bartoletta sealed her runner-up status with a final-round 6.89m leap. She also kept her Diamond Race lead with a total of ten points, while the Canadian now has seven. Proctor also posted her best distance of the day, 6.72m, in the last round.<\/div>\n
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The women\u2019s high jump played out in much the same way it did at last week\u2019s IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome. Croatia\u2019s Blanka Vlasic and Diamond Race leader Ruth Beitia were going head-to-head until the late stages of the competition, where Spaniard was stronger.<\/div>\n
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It was just these two still in action at 1.97m with Vlasic leading on countback. But Beitia was first to clear the bar, breaking the meeting record on her second attempt. Vlasic then equalled that mark on her third attempt to keep her meeting record-holder status. Both athletes had no luck at 1.99m.<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt was hard to adjust to the wind,\u201d said Beitia. \u201cIt was changing direction from attempt to attempt. This is something that affected me at 1.99m.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Vlasic admitted that she has been lacking volume in training, making long competitions difficult, but at the same time beneficial for her.<\/div>\n
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\u201cAt my last jumping session, I only did six jumps,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough for a high-level competition of 12 jumps. My legs felt empty at 1.99m, they couldn\u2019t handle my speed. But at the same time, these competitions are good for me; it\u2019s a good stress for my body.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Another record fell in the non-Diamond Race 400m. South Africa\u2019s Wayde van Niekerk clocked a national record of 44.24 ahead of The Bahamas\u2019 Chris Brown (44.74).<\/div>\n
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Perkovic and Vesely remain on top<\/b><\/div>\n
Croatian discus thrower Sandra Perkovic is now just one victory away from capturing the overall Diamond Race title.<\/div>\n
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Perkovic unleashed a massive throw on her first attempt. Her 68.44m throw was just four centimetres shy of her own meeting record. It was also her fifth straight victory this season and her third victory over the past 10 days.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThree Diamond League meetings in 10 days \u2013 this is exhausting. But it\u2019s still fun, I love my job,\u201d said the world champion.<\/div>\n
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Perkovic was happy with the winning mark too, but she has something bigger in mind for the IAAF World Championships.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI want to defend my title and, hopefully, throw over 70 meters,\u201d said Perkovic. \u201cI want to change a few small things in my technique. For example, to increase the speed of my spin.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The Olympic champion explained that she rolled her ankle while doing jumping exercises in training. But now that her foot has healed, she is ready to put more power into her spin phase.<\/div>\n
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Cuba\u2019s Yaimi Perez was a runner-up in the discus with 65.86m, while Melina Robert-Michon from France went from fourth to third with her final-round throw of 62.77m.<\/div>\n
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Vitezslav Vesely took victory in the javelin and extended his lead in the Diamond Race to five points, but the Czech thrower only took two attempts after feeling a sharp pain in his groin in the first round. As 83.62m was enough to put him in the lead, Vesely decided to be cautious.<\/div>\n
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Finland\u2019s Ari Mannio almost caught the Czech, throwing 83.37m in the sixth round, but remained a runner-up.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI was lucky I didn\u2019t have to throw more today,\u201d said Vesely. \u201cHaving taken that precaution, I hope I will be ready to compete in one week.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Elena Dyachkova for the IAAF and the IAAF Diamond League<\/i><\/div>\n