On the third night of Athletics, twelve women will compete in the Rio 2016 Women’s Triple Jump final on Sunday, with Olga Rypakova looking to defend the title she won four years ago.
In the past few years, it has been Caterine Ibarguen, the silver medalist in London, who has dominated the event and she is the favorite heading into this. However, the Olympics is a place where upsets often happen and every woman in the field will fancy their chances of taking a medal.
This final starts around 7:55 Eastern Standard Time.
The competitors
Arguably the two most recognizable names in the field are Ibarguen and Rypakova, and in qualification both showed they were in good form. The Colombian automatically qualified with a jump of 14.52 meters (the longest in qualification), whilst the Kazakh's leap of 14.39m also saw her automatically make the final.
The only other person to automatically qualify was Paraskevi Papachristou of Greece, whose jump of 14.43m saw her safely through to final.
The other nine women in the final did not meet the automatic qualifying mark but did enough to make the final. Kimberly Williams and Yulimar Rojas, who came attention after nearly beating Ibarguen earlier this year, are two of the most high-profile people to make it through.
Kristin Gierisch and Kristiina Makela completed the fourth and fifth longest jumps respectively to qualify. The five remaining women in the final are Hanna Knyazyeva (who finished second at the world championships last year), Patricia Mamona, Anna Jagaciak-Michalska, Susana Costa and Keturah Orji of America.
Who are the likely medal contenders?
Whilst there could be a surprise medalist, it seems likely that there will be six main women in contention for the medals
Without a doubt, Ibarguen is the strongest contender for a medal in this final, whilst Rypakova must also be considered a strong contender due to the fact that she is the defending champion, as well as her good performance in qualifying.
The fact that Papachristou automatically means that she must be considered a danger her, whilst Knyazyeva’s success in Beijing last year shows she knows how to perform on the big stage; she could feature once more.
Furthermore, both Williams and Rojas have been jumping well consistently this season and should also be a factor.
Keys to the final
If Ibarguen jumps well, it is unlikely she will lose, though she must be careful. Often she leads from early on and then loses the lead only to win at the last. Whilst she won’t complain if she wins like this, she must try to deliver a strong jump early on that could bring her gold, so she does not face too much pressure as the final goes on.
For the likes of Rypakova, Williams, and Rojas, consistency is certainly key. All three are certainly capable of challenging and even beating the heavy favorite, though all three are extremely erratic. Rypakova must try to use her experience as an Olympic champion to calm her nerves and know exactly what she must do, whilst Rojas and Williams must make sure they put in a decent jump in early on to put them in contention.
Not many would have had Papachristou down as the third-best qualifier and she will be full of confidence after that, but she must not let expectations get to her. The same could be said for Knyazyeva, who could be under pressure to medal at a major championship once again.
Assessment
Whilst Olympic finals are often unpredictable, it’s hard to predict anyone else apart from Ibarguen to take gold. Since the Olympic final four years ago, she has rarely been beaten and that is unlikely to change on Sunday night.
The battle for silver and bronze is a competitive one. However it seems that Rypakova is set for a strong showing after a good qualification, whilst Rojas has come closest to beating Ibarguen recently and should also do well.
Prediction
Gold: Caterine Ibarguen
Silver: Olga Rypakova
Bronze: Yulimar Rojas