Co-favorite Malaika Mihambo captures Olympic silver in the tightly contested long jump final in Paris but is later taken out of the Stade de France in a wheelchair due to shortness of breath. The cause is the aftereffects of a Covid infection. This is precisely why she feels “incredibly proud” of her performance.
Dramatic scenes unfolded on Thursday evening (08.08.2024) after the women’s long jump final. Malaika Mihambo was in tears, struggling for breath while speaking to her coach Ulli Knapp and indicating her neck in distress, sitting helplessly in a corner while clutching her chest.
Eventually, the 30-year-old was wheeled out of the Stade de France in a wheelchair, a heartbreaking conclusion to what was meant to be a victorious evening in which she won Olympic silver—an even more significant achievement considering the circumstances.
Malaika won silver and did not lose gold.
Mihambo: “Someone has to do that first”
Mihambo shared her thoughts on the situation nearly two hours after the final. “I’m feeling better now. It’s hard for someone to compete under such a disadvantage and still win a silver medal. So I’m incredibly proud of my performance,” stated the resilient athlete.
“It’s been tough the last few weeks. I still feel tired and exhausted,” said Mihambo, who contracted the virus during her European Championship victory in June. Since then, “I’ve had breathing issues with my lungs. I had to constantly perform breathing exercises; otherwise, I would not have survived the competition at all.” Coughing fits made it challenging for her to sleep at night.
DLV: No inpatient treatment necessary
Team doctor Andrew Lichtenthal had already provided reassurance on the sports show shortly after the competition. Mihambo was facing respiratory problems as a consequence of her Covid infection. Due to the competition, she had not taken a cough suppressant and experienced a coughing attack. She did not require inpatient treatment.
All six jumps completed
The Tokyo Olympic champion had already indicated breathing difficulties during the competition, yet she did not miss any of the six jumps; the fight for gold, silver, and bronze was too close.
With her fifth jump, she secured second place with a distance of 6.98 m; only the American Tara Davis-Woodhall (7.10) performed better, while bronze went to Jasmine Moore (6.96/USA). Before her last attempt, Mihambo summoned all her strength once again; three years prior in Japan, she had clinched gold with her final jump, as excelling under pressure is truly her specialty.
The body becomes weak
However, this time it was not enough. She started, then ran through; her approach did not work out, and she possibly lacked strength. Ultimately, she fell short by 13 centimeters from first place, but she had won silver; this perspective is how she and the two-time world and European champion perceived it as she grabbed a German flag. After the victory lap, her exhausted body finally succumbed.
She sat crying on the barrier at the edge of the stadium. Knapp rushed to her aid. Mihambo needed treatment; she could not leave the stadium unaided.
It’s heartbreaking to witness. It’s too much for your body. Your mind is always alert, but your body simply can’t cope.
Lyles also weakened by Corona
She could relate to Noah Lyles, the 100m Olympic champion who felt unwell in the morning, and a test confirmed a Covid infection. The American still competed in the 200m, finishing third behind Letsile Tebogo (Botswana), but lay completely exhausted on the purple track before his evening also ended in a wheelchair.
Memories of the home European Championship in Munich
Mihambo was actually in strong form this summer, becoming European champion in Rome with the second-longest jump of her career at 7.22 m. However, a Covid infection weakened her, and she recognized that she still lacked stamina. Now, the illness has taken its toll.
In Paris, this evoked memories of the 2022 European Championships at home, where Mihambo also competed while weakened by Covid and risked everything. At that time, she also won silver. She had completely exhausted herself and experienced fainting spells shortly after. She referred to it as a “borderline experience.” Now, “after the competition, it felt the same as two years ago in Munich.”
The list of successes is getting longer
This leaves Heike Drechsler (1992 and 2000) as the only long jumper in history with two Olympic victories, but Mihambo’s list of achievements is also growing: Since her gold medal win in 2018 at the home European Championships in Berlin, she has medaled at every major championship in which she has participated.
More victories are anticipated: “I’m looking forward to being completely healthy again and competing in good form,” stated the three-time Sportswoman of the Year after her hard-earned silver in Paris.
Co-favorite Malaika Mihambo wins Olympic silver in the close long jump final in Paris, but has to be taken out of the Stade de France in a wheelchair afterward with shortness of breath. The reason is the consequences of a Covid infection. That is precisely why she is “incredibly proud” of her performance.
There were dramatic images on Thursday evening (08.08.2024) after the women’s long jump final. Malaika Mihambo was crying bitterly, gasping for air while talking to coach Ulli Knapp and pointing to her neck in agony, sitting helplessly in the corner and holding her chest.
Eventually, the 30-year-old was wheeled out of the Stade de France in a wheelchair, a terrible end to what was actually a successful evening in which she won Olympic silver – an even greater success than it already was, given the circumstances.
Malaika won silver and did not lose gold.
Mihambo: “Someone has to do that first”
Mihambo herself expressed this view when she spoke about it almost two hours after the final. “I’m feeling better now. It’s hard for someone to be able to compete with such a handicap and still win a silver medal. So I’m incredibly proud of my performance,” said the strong athlete.
“It’s been difficult the last few weeks. I still feel tired and exhausted,” said Mihambo, who was infected with the virus during her European Championship victory in June. Since then, “I’ve had problems breathing with my lungs. I had to do breathing exercises all the time, otherwise I wouldn’t have survived the competition at all.” Coughing fits made it difficult for her to sleep at night.
DLV: No inpatient treatment necessary
Team doctor Andrew Lichtenthal had already given the all-clear on the sports show shortly after the competition. Mihambo was struggling with respiratory problems as a result of her corona infection. Because of the competition, she had not taken a cough suppressant and then had a coughing fit. She did not need to be treated as an inpatient.
All six jumps completed
The Tokyo Olympic champion had already revealed problems breathing during the competition, but she still did not miss any of the six jumps; the battle for gold, silver, and bronze was too close.
With her fifth jump, she had already secured second place with 6.98 m, only the American Tara Davis-Woodhall (7.10) was better, bronze went to Jasmine Moore (6.96/USA). Before the last attempt, Mihambo mobilized all her strength once again, three years ago in Japan she had secured gold with the last jump; getting the best out of herself under pressure is actually her specialty.
The body becomes weak
But this time it wasn’t enough. She started and then ran through; her run-up didn’t work out and she perhaps didn’t have enough strength. In the end, she was 13 centimeters away from first place, but she had won silver, that’s how you had to see it and that’s how the two-time world and European champion felt too, as she grabbed a German flag. After the lap of honor, her exhausted body finally gave up.
She sat crying on the barrier at the edge of the stadium. Knapp rushed over. Mihambo had to get treatment; she could not leave the stadium on her own.
It’s terrible to see. It’s too much for your body. Your mind is always fresh, but your body can’t handle it.
Lyles also weakened by Corona
She felt like Noah Lyles, the 100m Olympic champion who felt terrible in the morning, and a test revealed a Covid infection. The American started the 200m anyway, finished third in Letsile Tebogo’s (Botswana) victory, and lay completely exhausted on the purple track before the evening ended for him too, sitting in a wheelchair.
Memories of the home European Championship in Munich
Mihambo was actually in strong form this summer, becoming European champion in Rome with the second longest jump of her career at 7.22 m. But then a Covid infection weakened her, and she knew she still lacked the stamina. Now the illness has taken its toll.
In Paris, this brought back memories of the 2022 European Championships at home, where Mihambo had also started weakened by Corona and had risked everything. Back then, too, she won silver. She had completely exhausted herself and suffered fainting attacks shortly afterwards. She herself spoke of a “borderline experience.” Now, “after the competition, it was the same as two years ago in Munich.”
The list of successes is getting longer
This leaves Heike Drechsler (1992 and 2000) as the only long jumper in history with two Olympic triumphs, but Mihambo’s list of successes is also getting longer: Since her gold medal in 2018 at the home European Championships in Berlin, she has also won a medal at every major championship in which she participated.
More are to follow: “I’m looking forward to being completely healthy again and competing in good shape again,” said the three-time Sportswoman of the Year after her hard-fought silver in Paris.
