Malaika Mihambos Mission: Title Defence or 7.45 metres?

Malaika Mihambo is not looking for an heir to the throne. The mission of the world-class long jumper is to defend her title. And this year the 28-year-old has three titles to defend. First at the German championships, then at the world championships in Eugene and three weeks later at her second European Championships on home soil in Munich. In an exclusive interview the face of athletics for the European Championships Munich 2022 answered some of our questions.

Mihambo got to know the ancient sport at the age of eight in a summer camp. "Since then, I have been a track and field athlete with all my heart." The specialisation on the long jump came when she was about 16; before that, the athlete focused on the pentathlon. Sprinting is still close to her heart today, which is why the German with Tanzanian roots often competes in the 100 and 200 metres. The starts are not mandatory, but the training sessions for them are. "Increasing the maximum speed is important in the long jump because the distance depends largely on the run-up speed."

"Performances amplifiers are definitely to be looked for in the sprint. Speed is really the most important thing. But then of course it's also about being able to put the speed on the board." In addition to the two to four sprint sessions per week, the world-class athlete spends two sessions in the weight room and completes jumps over hurdles, on the grass and from a short run-up into the pit in further technique sessions. In addition, there are occasional tempo run sessions, which she does not need to this extent for the long jump itself. But sprinting is just as much fun for her as jumping. "What I particularly enjoy, of course, are usually the jumping sessions, one being long jump, of course, and the other hurdle jumps, or repeated jumps." The aim of her training is to combine her speed, strength and technique and turn them into distance from the board.

MEDITATION FOR CONCENTRATION

To do this, it takes full concentration. That is not easy, as a competition often stretches over a good two hours. "I think that's what makes the long jump so demanding, because you have to find your concentration again and again over a longer period of time." Because in addition to the external championships, there is also an internal one.

That's why the rest periods between the jumps should not be underestimated, "because you can't maintain such a high level of concentration for an hour and a half. So, this alternation between tension and relaxation is actually what makes the competition so special." The Heidelberg native has a rehearsed routine for this: take off your extra layers. Look towards the board and the pit. Focus on details for the run-up. And several deep breaths.

EUROPE, WORLD AND OLYMPIC CHAMPION

The long jumper has been perfecting this routine for years: Gold at the 2013 European U20 Championships, gold at the 2015 European U23 Championships, bronze at the European Championships and then the true test. At the inaugural European Championships in Berlin 2018, Mihambo was under incredible pressure on home turf. "Even in the stands, you noticed that all the people were really following meticulously what you were doing in the infield. And of course, that was a pressure I hadn't known before." The lap of honour after the initial trembling before the decisive third attempt was something special. Since then, the 28-year-old has added a world championships title to her achievements with an incredible leap to 7.30 metres in 2019, and an Olympic victory in 2021.

In Munich, therefore, there will be even more eyes on her than in Berlin, yet the inner pressure has lessened. "I have actually already achieved everything that an athlete can achieve in his or her sporting life. So, everything that is still to come is just a bonus."

CONTENTMENT WITH HERSELF > TITLE (DEFENCE)

It only brings her joy "to go into the ring as the defending champion." Because "there is no pressure now that I have to win there somehow." Her motivation no longer has anything to do with titles, but with an as yet unanswered question: "How far can I jump?"

At the start of the 2022 season, Mihambo jumped a magnificent 7.09 metres in Birmingham. She has never been that good at the start of the season! This raises a follow-up question, namely whether she will be able to attack records as well as titles this year. Her best of 7.30 metres catapulted her to the twelfth best long jumper of all time and the second best German behind Heike Drechsler, who holds the German record of 7.48 metres. The European and world record of 7.52 metres set by Galina Chistyakova (then URS) in 1988 is only a few centimetres further.

When faced with the question of whether she would choose a successful title defence or a legal jump of 7.45 metres, she only had to think about it for a blink of an eye. "If I had the choice, I would definitely go for 7.45 metres because going beyond yourself has a whole different meaning than a title."

The result would not be a record, but merely a personal best, yet the choice was easy for her. Jumping new distances is part of her inner championship, but the outer one, and thus defending the title, is no easy feat either. "There are actually a lot of competitors who are very strong." In Europe, besides Mihambo herself, these contenders include Ukraine's Maryna Bekh-Romanshuk, Serbia's Ivana Vuleta (née Španović) and Britain's Lorraine Ugen.

CHANGES IN SPORT

The opposition is only one variable of the competitions. Not long ago, you could tell if you produced a foul when you jumped. You could feel stepping on the plasticine mass, but today this control mechanism has been replaced by the newly introduced light barrier. Mihambo thinks the change is right: "It makes it more comparable, of course, and thus fairer again, because the light barrier always measures exactly the same." Shoes that have a higher bend at the tip leave a mark later, even when they overstep, and were therefore often wrongly produced legal jumps until last year. Such mistakes will be history from now on.

But no matter how the spikes are shaped, sand is always in them. "There is always sand in the shoes, too, and it will probably never come out again," the German explains with a laugh. At home, she takes off her sportswear in the shower to avoid turning the entire flat into an extended sandbox. This is also the case for Olympic beach volleyball champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, as they told us in an exclusive interview.

MUNICH 2022 AND THE ROOFS FESTIVAL

However, the long jump pit and its sand should stay infield, even though Mihambo will visit many facilities around the world this year. "This year's highlights are pretty clear: first of all, of course, the world championships in July and then the European Championships in August. And of course, as the defending champion, I hope to give my best at both."

Munich 2022 is not just another home European Championships, but, as in 2018, a mix of several European Championships, but this time all in one city! Munich 2022 will host nine European Championships: athletics, beach volleyball, canoe sprint, cycling, gymnastics, rowing, sport climbing, table tennis and triathlon. Mihambo also finds it difficult to decide which of these she should watch. She has never seen the other sports live, "so all of them are interesting for the time being, because I simply don't know them yet.”

Accompanying the multi-sport event will be The Roofs festival. "There were a lot of things that sounded interesting," said the track and field athlete. For Mihambo, the roofs with music, meditation, but also literature and philosophy are particularly exciting. "That's why the poetry slams would definitely be very interesting to listen to."

MORE THAN "JUST" A LONG JUMPER

Besides sports and her studies in environmental science, Mihambo also enjoys playing the piano, and "also likes to write her own music because it's nice to create something of your own." Thus, the athlete is the perfect figurehead for the sustainable multi-sport event and the accompanying The Roofs festival. The 28-year-old also likes to get involved with other people and for other people, which is how Malaikas Herzsprung e.V. came into being. A temporary campaign, started at her former primary school, turned into an association that works to ensure that children can afford to pay fees for sports clubs today.

Mihambo's priority, however, is to be a track and field athlete with all her heart: "Sport simply offers me a lot of opportunities to develop as a person, and I wouldn't want to miss that chance.”

YOUR CHANCE

No one should miss out on this multi-sport event! Tickets for the European Athletics Championships, as well as the other Olympic sports whose European Championships will be held in the Bavarian capital from 11-21 August, can be purchased at munich2022.en/tickets.

Marathon, race walking, BMX freestyle park, mountain bike cross-country and triathlon, as well as several of the cycling races, can even be marvelled at without tickets. The same applies to the concerts, activation programmes, lectures, talks and workshops at the festival The Roofs. The entire festival programme can be experienced completely free of charge.