Naomi Ogbeta makes European triple jump final with record leap
Naomi Ogbeta excelled to make the triple jump final at the European Championships in Berlin with a superb 14.15m PB and British under-23 record.
That moves her to third all-time amongst GB competitors behind Ashia Hansen and Yamile Aldama.
What's more, the Briton jumped into a hefty headwind of 1.6m/sec.
The 20-year-old improved on all her three jumps, beginning with a mark of 13.64m and then soaring to a solid 13.83m before her all-or-nothing jump in the final round to secure her spot in the final.
"I am just so happy right now," said a delighted Ogbeta, whose previous legal best had been 13.95m set when winning the British title.
"I stayed relaxed. I was a little bit nervous when I first jumped and then there was a little bit of waiting around because there were some technical difficulties.
"I did what I needed to do. I am so amazed that I did it. It is another under-23 record and third all-time. I've delivered.
"I think that jump was behind the board as well so hopefully in the final I can get on the board and get an extra 20 centimetres and see what happens. I am just going to try and enjoy the final as much as I can. The better my run-up is, the better my jumps will be.
"I am feeling so confident with that 14 metres behind me."
Exactly 12 athletes reached the qualifying distance of 14.05m.
Greece's Paraskevi Papachristou headed qualification - a 14.49m jump into an even stronger headwind of 3.0m/sec.
The opening women's track event of the day was the 100m hurdles qualification, one of the few track events without any British representation.
The first heat was won by Germany's Ricarda Lobe in 13.03, while France's Solene Ndama won heat two in a PB 12.88.
Poland's Karolina Koleczek won the third heat in 12.96 and that made her the fastest of the first round.
In the women's 400m qualification, Britain's Laviai Nielsen started proceedings superbly with a 51.67 PB to win her heat. Her previous best was 51.70.
"It felt really easy," she said. "I felt the Portuguese girl come up on the inside and I thought, 'Don’t panic, keep relaxed', as in the races I’ve been doing this season I’ve finished the strongest so I wanted to take the first 200m relatively easy and finish strong. I was glad I could do that and that it felt effortless.
"It’s really open this year. There is about a second separating the top 20 it is so open, but I’d like to be a contender."
Other heats winners included Cynthia Mbongo of Belgium in 51.69, Maria Chigbolu of Italy in 51.76 and Russian Polina Miller in 52.01.
Nielsen's GB team-mates Amy Allcock and Anyika Onuora had each received a bye through to the semi-finals based on their 2018 ranking.
A men’s events report can be found here.
» Results can be found here, while a day-by-day guide to the upcoming action in Berlin is here. See the August 9 and 16 editions of AW magazine for coverage
