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Fiona May had turned 30 in late 1999, but she was still a force to be
reckoned with on the international long jumping scene, as she had just
won the silver medal at the World Championships in Seville, and was
looking forward to competing in her fourth Olympic Games at Sydney the
following year. May was in scintillating form in the early part of the
2000 season, producing a number of 7 metre jumps. She won a Grand Prix
event on 14 May in Rio de Janeiro, where she jumped 7.02m in round two,
and 7.09m on her final attempt, her second best jump ever. The
following month, in Milan, she produced another two 7 metre jumps,
recording her third best jump ever of 7.07m in round one, and
supplementing this with a 7.02m performance in round five.
At the
European Cup in Gateshead on 16 July, Fiona (see photo above)
continued her remarkable record in this competition since 1989, winning
her eighth medal (a bronze) with a wind-assisted jump of 6.74m. Much of
the media hype leading up to the Olympic Games in Sydney that year
surrounded sprinter Marion Jones (USA), as to whether she could win five
gold medals in the two sprints, two relays, and long jump. Although
Jones had raw speed, her jumping technique was a bit green, and she
found herself confronted with two veteran long jump specialists at
Sydney, in the form of May and Heike Drechsler (Germany).
The
qualifying round confirmed that these were the three women to watch,
with Drechsler jumping 6.84m, ahead of May with 6.81m, and Jones with
6.78m. In the final, on 29 September, the three major contenders all
produced their best jumps in round three, as Drechsler won the gold with
6.99m, while May and Jones both jumped 6.92m, but Fiona gained the
silver due to a better inferior mark. (Ron Casey)
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