Lapierre's big leap at trials

Australian Fabrice Lapierre produced the sixth best performance by a long jumper but with the aid of a stiff tailwind on the final day of national track and field selection trials for the New Delhi Commonwealth Games yesterday. Lapierre's jump of 8.78...

Australian Fabrice Lapierre produced the sixth best performance by a long jumper but with the aid of a stiff tailwind on the final day of national track and field selection trials for the New Delhi Commonwealth Games yesterday.

Lapierre's jump of 8.78 metres, with the assistance of a 3.1m per second tailwind, was the standout performance of the three-day selection trials.

Only Americans Mike Powell, Bob Beamon and Carl Lewis, Soviet athlete Robert Emmiyan and Cuban Ivan Pedroso have jumped further, and Pedroso's jump was also wind-assisted.

"It's always there," said Lapierre, 26, who won the world indoor title last month.

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