Following her victory in the triple jump at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco today, Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts said she feels like she is on track for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics that gets underway later this month.
Ricketts, the only Jamaican winner at the meet where Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Tajay Gayle and Natoya Goule also competed, jumped 14.29m in her ‘final-three' attempt to defeat Yulimar Rojas and Patricia Mamona, who jumped 15.12m and 14.66m, respectively to qualify for the jump-off but fouled their final jumps.
Ricketts qualified with her opening-round jump of 14.75m.
“I am very pleased I was able to get a good series out tonight and that shows us where we are with our preparation so I am looking to build upon what we did tonight ahead of Tokyo in a few weeks,” said Ricketts who also jumped 14.65m during the preliminary round.
“The girls are doing extremely well in the triple jump and they keep the level high up. I am doing well in the competition and in training so it is a huge motivation for me to do better each time. With the ‘final-three’ rule, I really have to dig deep because this is the jump that matters, so this is pushing me to stay on top of my game.”
She said as she continues her preparation for the Olympics, she is focused on making minor improvements that will ensure success.
“There are always things to improve on but we will be focusing on the last phase in order to see bigger jumps in Tokyo. I am not putting any pressure on myself but I would be disappointed if I was leaving without a medal,” she said.
Gayle, the 2019 long jump world champion, was on the wrong end of the ‘final-three’ rule in his competition. He went into the ‘final-three’ round with the best jump of 8.29, along with Miltiadis Tentoglou and Thobias Montler, who jumped a personal best 8.27m in the earlier rounds.
Tentoglou had the only legal jump in the final round with 8.24m while Gayle and Montler both fouled.
On the track, Fraser-Pryce ran 22.48 to finish third in the 200m that was won by Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who rebounded from her loss in Hungary on Tuesday to clock 22.23 getting by Marie Josee Ta Lou just before the finish line. Ta Lou ran a season-best 22.25 for second place.
Natoya Goule ran her second-fastest time this season, 1:57.35, but finished fourth in the 800m. The three women who beat her all ran personal best times.
Great Britain’s Laura Muir won the race in 1:56.73 ahead of compatriot Jemma Reekie, who ran 1:56.96.
The USA’s Grace Kate was third 1:57.20.