By NICOLE JEFFERY  
Only five men in history have jumped further than this
ATHLETICS
April 19, 2010

A BIG jump was expected at the Commonwealth Games trials in Perth, but the surprise was that it came not from Olympic champion pole vaulter Steve Hooker, but from world indoor long jump champion Fabrice Lapierre.
In his last jump of the competition, he leapt into the realm of the greats, launching himself an extraordinary 8.78m from the board into the sandpit. The jump was wind-assisted (3.1m/second, above

the legal limit of 2m/sec) so will not stand as a national record, but only five men in history have jumped further in any conditions.
Mike Powell's 1991 word record is only 17cm further (8.95m), while Bob Beamon's 1968 mark stood at 8.90m. Other members of the club include Olympic champions Carl Lewis and Ivan Pedroso.
Lapierre came into the national titles intent on challenging Jai Taurima's Australian record of 8.49m but until his final jump did not look like getting near it.
However he was finally roused by the challenge from Queensland's Chris Noffke, who set a massive personal best of 8.33m, with a legal wind of 1.2m/sec, to take the lead in the fifth round.
Lapierre, who was born in Mauritius, raised in Sydney and is based in Texas, had one last chance to retain his title and he made it count.
"I wasn't even feeling good today, my groin was hurting a bit and I didn't want to push too hard but when Chris jumped big, I had to put one out there," he said.
"It felt like a normal big jump, quite natural."
Asked where such a mighty leap had come from he declared: "It's always been there."
"Now I know I can do it, and wind or no wind, I am going to break 8.50 this year."
Noffke's second-placed performance also established him among the world elite. Once world championship bronze medallist Mitchell Watt returns from injury, Australia will have three medal contenders on the world stage this year.
Meanwhile Hooker made a valiant effort to give his parochial local crowd a 6m vault, but fell just short yesterday. He cleared 5.80m at his first attempt but struck trouble at 5.95m, where he knocked the bar twice before making a death-or-glory move, lifting the bar to 6.01m for his final attempt.
However he failed to plant the pole precisely and never looked like clearing the height.
Hooker was not disappointed and said he had never claimed he would attempt the world record yesterday. All of the cream rose to the top yesterday, as world discus champion Dani Samuels also imposed herself effortlessly on the competition, throwing 63.61m.
It was also a day for rising stars as Ryan Gregson, 19, assumed the prestigious mantle of national 1500m champion, out-sprinting world championships semi-finalist Jeff Riseley to defeat the deepest field of the championships in 3:44.99.
In a typical championships race -- slow for the first three laps and then with a huge kickdown -- Gregson showed the turn of speed that will make him ever more dangerous as he develops. He already has a personal best time of 3:35.32 but will run much faster based on this evidence and is eager to prove himself internationally.
Perth's Jody Henry, 25, emerged as Australia's leading female sprinter, completing the rare 200m-400m double with a strong showing in the shorter sprint yesterday, winning in 23.31sec.
The rejuvenated 37-year-old Patrick Johnson bounced back from a disappointing showing in the 100m, where he finished fourth, to snatch the 200m crown from new 100m champion Aaron Rouge-Serret in 20.78sec.
So far 28 athletes have qualified for the Commonwealth Games.