Malaika Mihambo competes in Hengelo (© Dan Vernon) Even if the odds don’t seem that good, I don’t give up.“Īs if to prove the point again – after the dramatic last-gasp effort that took her to Olympic gold in Tokyo last year – Mihambo proceeded to propel herself out of the long jump equivalent of the last chance saloon with another victory-grabbing final round leap in the rain-lashed Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion. Whether it’s the sixth round, or the third, it doesn’t matter: I’m giving it my all.
“I’m all in until the competition is over. “For me, the competition is only over after the sixth attempt,“ the world, Olympic and European champion said. The suggestion drew a wry smile from Mihambo, an engagingly erudite individual who likes to spend her off-seasons meditating and absorbing the culture in India and Thailand. It was put to the German long jump queen on the eve of her fourth competition of this crowded 2022 outdoor season, the FBK Games in Hengelo (6 June), that she was the “Chef der letzten Runde” - the chief of the last round. For Malaika Mihambo, it’s never over, it would seem.
