Latvian Athlete Ruth Kate Lassmane Dominates President’s Award Triple Jump Competition

Ruth Kate Lassman started the President’s Award triple jump competition with a failed attempt due to a board violation. The girl from Ventspils won the test with the second jump, reaching the mark of 13.75 meters, but in the third run she improved her result to 13.87 meters. The farthest flight of the day and of the entire competition was achieved by Lasmane in the fifth run, when the Latvian athlete jumped to the mark of 14.02 meters.

About her performance in the Baltic match races, Lasmane said: “I am very happy with my performance in the President’s Award matches. The season was long and it is a pleasure that at the end of the season I was able to get all my strength and start well. Although it seemed that a lot of fatigue had accumulated, I was able to recover , and now is such a proud moment.”

“The triple jumpers were probably spoiled by Dievins. I thought it was a very good time. The wind in this stadium tends to be inconvenient because it is changeable. Overall, I think it was very good,” said Lasmane, who showed the highest result of the competition according to the IAAF point table system by winning the individual President’s Cup.

For the first time during his presidency, the main prizes of the competition will be presented by Edgars Rinkevičs, however, the traditional reception at the Riga Palace for Lasmane will most likely be delayed, as the athlete will already be in the USA and preparing for her fourth season in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

“I am very happy about this season, because I at least partially fulfilled my goal. It was a medal at the NCAA championship with a good result over 14 meters (14.21). Of course, I wanted to get closer to the standard of the world championship, but this time I did not succeed. I succeeded anyway to stay in good health and I have consistently jumped over 14 meters. Of course, you always want to do better,” said the Latvian triple jumper.

“America has a very strong sprint school. They work very hard on speed and pace, as well as explosive power, which is missing here. There are all the opportunities to do it – strength drugs, equipment and things like that that allow you to work on it. America is also known as a sprint school where, developing speed, you can also jump further,” said the Ventspils woman about the emphasis on the ocean on her side.

The big match that is already on the minds of all athletes is next year’s Olympic Games in Paris. In addition to her personal record, Lasmane needs to reach the Olympic standard: “In order to qualify for Paris, you have to at least come close to the competition standard, which is really very high (14.55). Since I have to jump within 14.50 – 14.60, so I I would go to Paris for questions. If the standard cannot be reached, then there must be a stable 14-meter performance.”

“I will find out whether this season is over for me in the coming days. If there is no world championship, then the President’s award was the final matches of this season,” admitted the athlete. “The vacation plan is to spend the rest of the time in Latvia, until leaving for America, with my family and in nature. Finally, I will eat some sweet cake. I will just spend time in Latvia,” said Lasmane, who won the President’s Cup.