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World Silver for Olivia Breen in the T38 Long Jump
14/07/2023 00:00, In Blog / Track & Field /
Olivia Breen took silver last night at the World Para Athletics Championships to bring Great Britain and Northern Ireland's medal tally to 14.
Breen’s (Aston Moore, City of Portsmouth) was the model of consistency after leaping into second in the first round, and stayed there until the end with a season best jump of 5.04m in the fifth round.
Breen, who is returning to competition after a slight ankle problem, opened her campaign in Paris with the T38 100m where she finished sixth.
She placed second after a first-round effort of 4.62m, eventual winner Luca Ekler of Hungary opening up with a 5.77m that would be the winning distance. Despite Ekler’s leap, Breen improved to 4.95m second time out before a 4.77m third and 4.71 fourth. The season best jump saw her upgrade her bronze medal from the previous Championships four years ago to silver.
Breen broke the five-metre barrier in impressive style in the fifth round, leaping out to 5.04m. Breen said:
“It’s really special as it’s my first silver medal in the long jump, so I’m really ecstatic.
“I’m just so happy it was a good competition – and consistent. I’m hungry for more, there’s a big jump there and I’m just so excited for next year. It was a bit hit and miss about how the ankle was going to handle things.
“I didn’t use the blocks in the 100m because I wanted to save for the long jump as that’s my main event, so I’m just really happy that it stayed in one piece. Now my plan is to rehab and get ready for next year.”