Simon Ehammer is competing in the long jump final at his first Summer Games. "I can hope for a lot," he emphasizes and names the competitors who are in contention for a medal.
Qualifying as a must? Think again. The 24-year-old's relief was clear to see when he punched his ticket for Tuesday evening with 8.09 m in his second attempt. "Yes, you're under pressure," admitted the man from Appenzell. "The hurdle is high, the field is close together. There may be little suffering."
A look at the World Athletics leaderboard confirms Ehammer's view of things. 77 (!) jumpers worldwide have broken the 8m barrier this year. 30 of them took a run-up in the Stade de France on Sunday morning.
Looking at the result sheet, Ehammer seemed to have no problem making the 7.90 m cut. But that was not the case. Even for a medal candidate, an 8m jump requires more than just hitting the bar. On Sunday, he hit the take-off point every time, but the Swiss record holder (8.45 m) never really flew like he did at the European Championships in Rome, where he had set an example with 8.41 m in qualifying.
In his first attempt (7.69), the power transmission in his ankle was not right ("I had a soft foot"). In the second jump (8.09) the foot was hard enough, but the step rhythm before the take-off was not fast enough. And Ehammer did not pull off the last set (6.62) after he had to stretch too much with the last few steps to hit the bar. Conclusion: "If I can combine vault 1 and vault 2, then it will be good."
All US jumpers out
In the final, everything starts from scratch again for the remaining dozen, and yet Ehammer's chances of a medal have increased considerably. The seemingly compulsory qualification exercise claimed prominent victims. None of the three Americans were allowed to try again, with the Jamaican Tajay Gayle, who had managed 8.18 m in the Olympic trials, or the Swede Tobias Montler failing to make the cut.
"I want a medal," says Ehammer. And he also mentions the six names that he believes are in contention: Miltiadis Tentoglou, Wang Jianan, Mattia Furlani, Wayne Pinnock, Carey McLeod, Simon Ehammer.
"Gold is reserved for Mitiadis. He can only beat himself," says Ehammer about the Greek. "And you never know with Wang. He shows five rivets and with the sixth he wins gold." The Swiss recalls the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, where the Chinese athlete won gold - ahead of Tentoglou and Ehammer.
Ehammer doesn't have to remind those present of the European Championships in Rome just two months ago. There he only won bronze despite his 8.31 m. In addition to Tentoglou, he was also beaten by the 19-year-old Italian Furlani. The results of the Jamaica Trials at the end of June, on the other hand, are not known to many: 1. McLeod 8.38. 2. Pinnock 8.27.
A 36-year drought
Switzerland has been waiting for an Olympic medal in athletics since 1988 with Werner Günthör's bronze medal in Seoul. Ehammer will start with a different tactic than at the beginning of June in Rome, where he wanted to "shoot one out", raise the Swiss record above the 8.50 m mark and shock the competition. The first thing to do is to secure jumps four to six, "then we'll start working". Everyone would be under pressure, which could also be a hindrance. "8.20 m could possibly be enough for bronze."
SDA
