Molly Palmer: An eventful debut
When Molly Palmer jumped 6.68m in February, it was enough to secure her a first GB vest, a first international selection, and a place in the World Indoors. Imagine her excitement. Then a surprise. As she sprinted towards the take-off board, she noticed that the pit had not been raked. Too late to abort. She jumped… and landed in a hole and fell backward!
She protested that the sand had not been raked properly. The officials agreed and allowed her to repeat her opening jump, but insisted that she do so immediately – hardly fair. Her second jump was long but called a foul. One TV picture suggested that it was legal. She finished 10th with 6.49.
Molly’s assessment was: “I think today was one of the most eventful competitions I have ever had. The pit wasn’t raked on my first-round jump, so I had to jump again a few minutes later. It was a very stressful situation; I didn’t know what to do or how it worked. I didn’t know it was possible for the pit not to be raked at a major championship. I am quite disappointed because I have a chronic injury, so jumping in a pit that’s not raked is a high risk; I could get injured again. On my second jump, I did a dive roll, showing my gymnastics background. Overall, I am happy to come away with 6m49, one of my biggest jumps ever”.
(Editor’s note: Molly Palmer is enrolled at Loughborough University, training with the Charnwood Athletic Club. Molly is in the British High Performance program at Loughborough.)
