Romanian Alina Rotaru-Kottmann wins bronze in long jump at World Athletics Championships
Alina Rotaru-Kottmann, 30 years old, achieved a sensational victory in Budapest, winning the bronze medal in the long jump with a leap of 6.88 meters on her last attempt.
The Romanian celebrated alongside the winner, Ivana Vuleta from Serbia, and the silver medalist, American Tara Davis-Woodhall, shouting happily: “My first medal!”
Her first medal was also Romania’s first since 1983 when athlete Anișoara Cușmir reached the podium in this event. Rotaru also became Romania’s first representative on the world podium since the 2009 edition in Berlin, when Nicoleta Grasu won bronze in discus throw, according to GSP.
The Romanian representative advanced to the final after a 6.69-meter jump, the ninth-best result in the event's preliminaries. Only three athletes had surpassed the qualification mark of 6.80 meters: Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA) with 6.87m, Marthe Koala (Burkina Faso) with 6.84m, and Ivana Vuleta (Serbia) with 6.82m.
Alina Rotaru jumped 6.51 meters on her first attempt, the fifth athlete to clear the threshold. She consistently improved throughout the competition: 6.72m on her second jump, and 6.75m on her fourth, reserving her best for the final jump - 6.88 meters.
Rotaru, coached by Mihai Corucle, secured her spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics after meeting the qualification standard in her event on August 2, in Germany, at the Inneringen Weitsprung Meeting.
In Romania's history of participation in the World Championships, only once had a Romanian athlete stood on the podium in the long jump event: Anișoara Cușmir, the current president of the Romanian Athletics Federation, achieved this at the inaugural edition in Helsinki 1983, with a jump of 7.15 meters, earning the silver medal. At that time, she also held the world record with a mark of 7.43 meters.
(Photo source: Federația Română de Atletism on Facebook)
