Athletics - Labiche leaps short of Olympic qualification |23 March 2016

Reigning Sportswoman of the Year Lissa Labiche could not go beyond her own national high jump record to achieve Olympic qualification at the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Indoor Championships, in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Labiche competed in the high jump finals on Sunday where she needed to clear the bar at a height of not lower than 1.93m to secure Olympic qualification, but she fell just 4cm short of it by clearing a height of 1.89m at her third attempt.

She had cleared the bar at 1.86m in just one attempt and followed this up with a jumping at 1.89m. But after asking for the bar to be raised at 1.93m, she failed all her three attempts, thus missing out on a new Seychelles record. Her record stands at 1.92m.

Labiche finished in 10th position, one place behind her continental rival Doreen Amata of Nigeria, who also cleared the bar at 1.89m.

The winner of the event was American Vashti Cunningham with a jump of 1.96m. Second place went to Ruth Beitia of Spain and third was Poland’s Kamila Licwinko. They both finished with the same height of 1.96m.

The world indoor high jump record stands at 2.08m and belongs to Swedish Kajsa Bergqvist, a record set way back in 1976. The outdoor record of 2.09m is also a long standing one, with Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria setting it way back in 1965.

Labiche is still left with a few chances at attempting to qualify for the Olympic Games. The most notable event is the Senior African Athletics Championship that will be held in Durban, South Africa, in June.

S. N.