South Africa's Luvo Manyonga competes in the men's long jump event of the IAAF Diamond League 2018 Golden Gala on May 31, 2018 at the Comunal Stadio Olimpico in Rome. / AFP PHOTO / Andreas SOLARO
Relieved to have gained revenge for a rare defeat earlier this season, long jumper Luvo Manyonga said his new rivalry with Cuban teenager Juan Miguel Echevarria had driven him to a world season lead at the fourth leg of the IAAF Diamond League series in Rome this week.
The South African star delivered under pressure once again on Thursday night, snatching a hard-fought victory by leaping 8.58 metres in the Italian capital as he added two centimetres to his own 2018 world lead.
Echevarria settled for second place with a personal best of 8.53m, while South African Ruswahl Samaai finished third with a jump of 8.34m.
At the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham in March, Manyonga had been handed his first loss since the 2016 Rio Olympics when he was stunned by Echevarria, despite setting an African indoor record of 8.44m.
Proving he was still the man to beat in his specialist discipline, however, Manyonga struck back against the 19-year-old prodigy in their midweek battle.
“I was waiting for this,” Manyonga said afterwards.
“I met Echevarria last time at the world indoors, where he beat me, so I wanted to compete against him and [hit] back.”
Manyonga held 16 points at the top of the Diamond League series standings in the long jump, six points clear of second-placed American Jeff Henderson.
Middle-distance runner Caster Semenya was the only other SA athlete among the top three in any discipline.
She led the 800m and 1 500m tables with 14 legs left in the annual campaign.
