Italian jumper admits Brume tough foe

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By Anthony Nlebem.

Silver medallist at the 2023 European Indoor Championships Larissa Iapichino revealed that Nigerian jumper and World Championships silver medallist, Ese Brume, is one athlete she fears most.

The 20-year-old Italian jumper leapt a record 6.97m at the just-concluded European Indoor Championships held in Istanbul from March 2 to 5 to begin her season on an impressive note.

Iapichino came second behind 28-year-old British Jazmin Sawyers, who produced the best performance of her career with a massive British Record of 7.00m.

Speaking shortly after the championship, the European U-20 champion claimed she had to improve on her outdoor record to stand a chance to beat the world’s best jumpers likes Brume, Commonwealth champion and bronze medallist at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics; Malaika Mihambo, Ivana Spanovic and Brittney Reese.

Also, Iapichino’s Istanbul success will serve as a morale boost for her confidence to compete among top jumpers at the World Championships in Budapest from August 19 to 27 in Hungary.

“Jazmin Sawyers triumphed with 7.00m, Malaika Mihambo, Ivana Spanovic, Brittney Reese, Ese Brume and Leticia Oro Melo, the Ukrainian Maryna Bech-Romanchuk and the Swedish Khaddi Sagnia are very fearsome,” Lapichino said in an interview with OA Sport Italia.

The 27-year-old Brume won gold at the women’s long jump event and broke the game record at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Brume also won the bronze medal in the long jump event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, with a jump of 6.91 m and at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, with a jump of 6.97 m.

In 2022, she became the first African woman in history to jump four legal marks over 7.00m