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Athletics-Diaz skyrockets to European gold with third finest triple jump of all time

Spain's Jordan Diaz jumped a huge 18.18 metres, the 3rd finest dive of all time, in a triple dive thriller at the European Championships in Rome on Tuesday, also breaking a 26yearold champion record to take the gold medal.

Diaz had set a brand-new personal best with a dive of 17.96 on his 4th effort of 6, but was still in 2nd place after Portugal's Pedro Pichardo had currently broken Jonathan Edwards' champion record of 17.99, set in 1998, with a leap of 18.04.

Pichardo, Olympic and European champion, was the only rival to have formerly gone past 18 metres, with an individual finest of 18.08, but the 30-year-old soon found himself overtaken and dismissed by his fellow Cuban-born competitor.

The ruling champion skipped his fourth attempt, however was pushed into action once again by the efficiency of Diaz. Pichardo hit 17.92 on his last effort, and needed to be content with silver, while France's Thomas Gogois took bronze with 17.38.

Back in 2015, Pichardo was involved in what was called the best triple jump competitors ever when both he and Christian Taylor leapt over 18 metres in Doha. That time, Pichardo triumphed, however he was no match for Diaz in Rome.

American Taylor went even better a couple of months later when he came closest to beating Edwards' world record with a jump of 18.21, eight centimetres short of the Briton's record which has actually stood considering that 1995.

Diaz now moves third in the all-time list, ahead of Will Claye of America, and the 23-year-old will now aim for the Olympics in Paris, going there as European champion having missed out on Tokyo after he defected from Cuba.

Formerly Diaz had actually stated he wanted to break the 18-metre mark where it counted, at the Olympics, however after easily eclipsing it in Rome, that enduring world record could be next.

(source: Reuters)