Long jump Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo is setting big goals for the new World Cup season after a demanding year in athletics with two title fights and a difficult time due to a corona disease.
“I’m very happy with my year. I would certainly have liked to start at the European Championships without a handicap. But I was able to show an exceptionally good performance there, too,” said the 28-year-old of the German Press Agency.
successes
Mihambo successfully defended her 2019 title at the World Championships in Eugene, USA in July. Successfully defending her title is also her goal at the World Championships from August 19 to 27, 2023 in Budapest. “I am very happy that I was able to achieve a higher level of performance again – similar to what I had in 2019. Now I am happy to be able to build on that and I hope that I can improve my level even further next year,” said Mihambo .
Weakened by a corona infection shortly after the World Cup in the USA, she was only three centimeters behind the Serbian winner Ivana Vuleta at the European Championships in Munich in August. Mihambos 7.03 meters was the only German performance at the home European Championships, which was successful from a German point of view, and which would have been enough for a medal at the World Cup a few weeks earlier. There the athlete from the LG Kurpfalz had won with 7.12 meters. But she was also “extremely proud” of second place at the European Championships, emphasized Mihambo.
When dealing with pressure, the World Cup showed her again that she had learned a lot, she said. After being named Sportswoman of the Year in 2019, 2020 and 2021, this time she took second place behind double European Champion Gina Lückenkemper.
For Mihambo, the indoor competition in Karlsruhe is scheduled for January 27th near home. Besides this, she has targeted the indoor meetings in Dusseldorf (January 29) and Berlin (February 10). “I always find it particularly important to go to high-level meetings with strong competition and a large audience,” said Mihambo. The European Indoor Championships in Istanbul from March 2nd to 5th could also be an opportunity for them to start. But the focus is on the World Cup in summer. The German championships take place in Kassel a good month earlier on July 8th and 9th.
