Triple Jump, Women

The 2011 World Champion had been Ukrainian Olha Saladukha, who was world ranked #1 for the year. She followed Kazakh jumper Olga Rypakova, ranked #1 in 2010 after winning the 2010 World Indoors, who had placed second at the 2011 Daegu Worlds. The bronze medalist at Daegu had been Colombian Caterine Ibargüén, and the three came to London as the medal favorites along with Cuban Yargelis Savigne, ranked #2 in the world in 2010 and 2011.

Rypakova opened the final with 14.54 to take the early lead. In round two, Ukrainian Hanna Kniazeva moved ahead with 14.56. But Rypakova bounded 14.98 in round three, a mark that would bring her the gold medal, as Ibargüén improved in that round to 14.67 and second place. Saladukha was only fifth after the first three rounds, by virtue of her 14.48 in round two. No changes in medal positions occurred in the fourth or fifth rounds, with Ibargüén and Knyazyeva holding second and third. Saladukha improved to 14.53 in round four and 14.51 in round five, but only moved up to fourth. But on her final jump, she burst out to 14.79 to move into second, albeit briefly, as three jumpers later Ibargüén responded nicely with 14.80 to win the silver medal, Saladukha taking silver. Rypakova’s winning mark of 14.98 was the shortest ever to win Olympic gold, the previous shortest being Tereza Marinova’s (BUL) 15.20 to win at Sydney in 2000. The London medalists were the same as at the Daegu World Championships, but the order was changed.

Savigne was never a factor and placed ninth. Fifth-place went to a former Cuban national, Yamilé Aldama, who was competing for her third completely unrelated nation at the Olympics. Aldama finished fourth at the 2000 Olympics for Cuba, competed for the Sudan in 2004 and 2008, and in 2012, was competing for Great Britain.