Six athletes competed in the women’s triple jump sector: Ibargüen from Colombia, Ekaterina Koneva from Russia, world vice-champion Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko from Israel, Kimberly Williams from Jamaica, Gabriela Petrova from Bulgaria, and, of course, Olga Rypakova. Besides the touching moments of saying goodbye to another summer season, many athletes in Brussels faced purely competitive objectives. Olga Rypakova, for instance, certainly aimed to defend her second-place standing in the overall Diamond League rankings.
The 2012 London Olympic Champion could not climb any higher—Colombian Caterine Ibargüen had secured the top spot long before the final and could afford not to compete at all or jump at half-strength. However, the battle for the remaining two positions in the top three promised to be fierce.
To displace Rypakova from her position, her closest pursuer and world season leader Ekaterina Koneva of Russia needed to win the stage and hope that our star compatriot would finish lower than second.
Olga “helped” Koneva with the second part of that plan. A dip in form at the end of the season, compounded by a back injury, took its toll. Her first attempt was a foul, but after a second jump of 14.23m, Rypakova moved into second place for the stage behind Ibargüen, who had jumped only 3 cm further. She maintained this position after the third jump. However, past the halfway point, the competitors’ results began to improve sharply. Olga delivered her best jump in the final attempts—14.26m. We are no longer surprised by this, knowing Rypakova’s character, which allows her to find extra strength and improve at the decisive moment.
The 14.26m jump earned Olga only fifth place in the final protocol, which suited Koneva perfectly. However, the Russian athlete failed to fulfill her own part of the plan. With a best effort of 14.37m, she fell 23 centimeters short of Caterine Ibargüen, who won yet another Diamond League stage.
Following the season results, the Colombian took first place with 28 points. Trailing by 21 points, Rypakova finished second overall, while Ekaterina Koneva took third place with 6 points.
XIV Diamond League Stage. Triple Jump. Women:
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Caterine Ibargüen (Colombia) – 14.6
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Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko (Israel) – 14.42
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Ekaterina Koneva (Russia) – 14.37 …5. Olga RYPAKOVA (Kazakhstan, EKR) – 14.26
Source: vksport.kz
