The day that would end with Greg Rutherford making history did not have the best of starts. Having planned everything down to the finest detail, the Olympic champion had caught too much sun.
As a redhead, Rutherford is naturally cautious of staying outside in hot weather, but during Monday’s qualifying session he had been caught out by the conditions. After qualifying he felt exhausted and he woke up yesterday with a raging headache.
He went to see the team doctor, who gave him some paracetamol, but it had little effect. “At about 2pm, I thought, ‘Flipping heck, I won’t be able to jump,’ ” Rutherford said. “But I turned it round. Adrenaline is an incredible thing.”
Rutherford turned in a completely dominant display in a stadium that held bad memories for him. In 2008, the Olympic Games here had been one to forget for him as he was struck down by kidney and lung infections and could barely jump in the final.
Four years later, in London, he got it right. But while the London Olympics will always be his fondest sporting memory, last night — so far — was his best performance. Rutherford landed the best two jumps of the competition, 8.41 metres and 8.29, to win by a street from Fabrice Lapierre, of Australia, on 8.24 with the bronze going to Wang Jianan, of China, with 8.18.
Advertisement
It was a wonderful way to prove a point to his doubters and he has had many. His achievement in London was derided because it was the shortest Olympic winning jump since 1972 and he received more criticism when he attempted to compete at the world championships in Moscow in 2013 despite a serious injury.
“I have had so many ups and downs in my career, even as a kid,” Rutherford said. “I never won an English schools medal, I was never the best in the country as a kid. I just plugged away and had a supportive family, managed to do well.
“In 2013 I felt the ultimate low again, Olympic champion going to a world championships, I couldn’t take off and you realise quickly when you have a serious injury that you can’t compete with the world’s best. It takes going into a stadium to learn it the hard way. You build experience and that’s what happens.”
As a constant underdog, it was only fitting perhaps that he was not favourite for the final yesterday, despite being Olympic, European and Commonwealth Games champion. That honour went to Jeff Henderson, of the United States, who had the three leading jumps of the day. Henderson, though, crumbled in the final, unable to deal with a fast runway that led to a string of no-jumps. He overstepped on two of his first three jumps, managing only a lowly 7.95 in his other leap, meaning early elimination. Another American, Mike Hartfield, failed to land a single jump.
Rutherford also overstepped on his first and third jumps, but he was perfect on the board on his second jump, of 8.29, and again in his fourth, of 8.41. “Coming into this, everyone had already hung the medal around [Henderson’s] neck,” Rutherford said. “The guy is a fantastic jumper, there’s no question about that, but I’ve got a lot of experience of doing this.”
Advertisement
Rutherford has turned into a consummate championship performer and his season is not over yet. Next week he will claim his first Diamond Race title if he finishes in the first two at the Diamond League event in Zurich.
Victory also meant that all three Great Britain gold-medal winners on Super Saturday at the London Olympics had won gold medals here, after Mo Farah’s win in the 10,000 metres and Jessica Ennis-Hill’s success in the heptathlon. Poor internet in the team hotel had hampered Rutherford’s attempts to communicate with his family, but the one time he connected to Twitter, he quickly came off again. “It was just as Jess was winning her gold medal and my timeline was suddenly full of people saying, ‘Mo and Jess have won, now it’s up to Greg,’” he said. “As if I didn’t have enough pressure already.”
As no challenger was threatening to emerge, Rutherford passed on his fifth jump and strode nervously along the back straight at the “Bird’s Nest” Stadium while his rivals had one last go at beating him. “Round six of a long jump competition when you are winning, is the most stressful thing in the world,” he said. “It was the same as the Olympic final, I was just ticking everybody off. Then there were six, then five, four, three, then I knew I was a world bronze medallist, then I knew I was a world silver medallist, then I became a world champion.
“If I never jump again, at least I can say I won every major title and that’s incredibly special.”
Britain’s famous five
Advertisement
Ony five Britons have achieved the grand slam of major titles
Greg Rutherford (long jump) Olympics, London, 2012; World Championships, Beijing, 2015; European Championships, Zurich, 2014; Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, 2014
Jonathan Edwards (triple jump) Olympics, Sydney, 2000; World, Edmonton, 2001; European, Budapest, 1998; Commonwealth, Manchester, 2002
Sally Gunnell (400m hurdles) Olympics, Barcelona, 1992; World, Stuttgart, 1993; European, Helsinki, 1994; Commonwealth, Victoria, 1994
Linford Christie (100 metres) Olympics, Barcelona, 1992; World, Stuttgart, 1993; European, Helsinki, 1994; Commonwealth, Victoria, 1994
Advertisement
Daley Thompson (decathlon) Olympics, Moscow, 1980; World, Helsinki, 1983; European, Athens, 1992; Commonwealth, Brisbane, 1982
Three to watch today
Women’s 400 metres hurdles final, 1.10pm
Eilidh Child, the European champion, reached the final unhappy with her hurdling. Kaliese Spencer, the world No 1 from Jamaica, looks vulnerable after injury; Zuzana Hejnova, of the Czech Republic, may take some stopping.
Men’s 200 metres semi-finals, 1.30pm
Advertisement
Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin are set for another confrontation as the American looks to show that he remains a threat to the Jamaican.
Men’s 400 metres final, 2.25pm
Kirani James, the Olympic champion, looks the man to beat, but LaShawn Merritt will not give up his title without a fight.