World indoor long jump champion Fabrice Lapierre has continued his impressive start to the year with his second successive podium finish on the IAAF Diamond League tour in Rome.
Following his win in the first of seven men's long jump events on the all-new Diamond League calendar in Shanghai last month, the 26-year-old Australian leapt 8.11m to place third in Rome.
World indoor long jump champion Fabrice Lapierre has continued his impressive start to the year with his second successive podium finish on the IAAF Diamond League tour in Rome.
Following his win in the first of seven men's long jump events on the all-new Diamond League calendar in Shanghai last month, the 26-year-old Australian leapt 8.11m to place third in Rome.
Lapierre finished behind 2004 Olympic and three-time world champion Dwight Phillips from the United States, who took out the event with a world-leading effort of 8.42m, and reigning Olympic and 2007 world champion Irving Saladino of Panama, who was second with a leap of 8.13m.
Opening his campaign with a foul, Lapierre recorded a distance of 7.84m in the second round of competition then added a further two fouls to his account before hitting the third-best mark of the day on his penultimate trip down the runway.
The Texan-based New South Welshman rounded out his campaign with a leap of 8.06m. Despite securing his second podium finish from as many starts on the Diamond League tour, Lapierre said he would be looking for even bigger and better things in the next round of competition.
"I'm still confident I'm going to continue having good form right throughout this year, it didn't happen today but I'll be alright next time," Lapierre said.
"I wasn't worried about what anyone else was jumping, I was just trying to get myself awake and ready to go but I just couldn't get anything happening. I kind of got going in the last couple of rounds but I just didn't hit the board right so it didn't work out."
On track for a season-long showdown with the reigning world and Olympic champions, Lapierre said he was in for a tough challenge ahead.
"Obviously it's going to be tough, I think (the results) are going to change every time," he said.
"Whoever's going the best on that day is going to get the best result, so it's going to be pretty tough and it's really going to go back and forth I think."
In placing third, Lapierre takes his Diamond Race points tally to five, sitting just behind Phillips (six points) and one place ahead of Saladino (two points) in the chase for the coveted title of world No.1 and the $US40,000 ($A47,147.57) cash prize.
The 14-meet Diamond League tour now moves to New York for Round five of the series on Saturday, June 12.
Headlining the action in New York will be world, Olympic, world indoor and Commonwealth Games champion Steve Hooker (pole vault), Olympic silver medallist Sally Pearson (100m hurdles) and national 5000m and 10,000m champion Eloise Wellings (5000m) pending Visa approval.
AAP
Following his win in the first of seven men's long jump events on the all-new Diamond League calendar in Shanghai last month, the 26-year-old Australian leapt 8.11m to place third in Rome.
Lapierre finished behind 2004 Olympic and three-time world champion Dwight Phillips from the United States, who took out the event with a world-leading effort of 8.42m, and reigning Olympic and 2007 world champion Irving Saladino of Panama, who was second with a leap of 8.13m.
Opening his campaign with a foul, Lapierre recorded a distance of 7.84m in the second round of competition then added a further two fouls to his account before hitting the third-best mark of the day on his penultimate trip down the runway.
The Texan-based New South Welshman rounded out his campaign with a leap of 8.06m. Despite securing his second podium finish from as many starts on the Diamond League tour, Lapierre said he would be looking for even bigger and better things in the next round of competition.
"I'm still confident I'm going to continue having good form right throughout this year, it didn't happen today but I'll be alright next time," Lapierre said.
"I wasn't worried about what anyone else was jumping, I was just trying to get myself awake and ready to go but I just couldn't get anything happening. I kind of got going in the last couple of rounds but I just didn't hit the board right so it didn't work out."
On track for a season-long showdown with the reigning world and Olympic champions, Lapierre said he was in for a tough challenge ahead.
"Obviously it's going to be tough, I think (the results) are going to change every time," he said.
"Whoever's going the best on that day is going to get the best result, so it's going to be pretty tough and it's really going to go back and forth I think."
In placing third, Lapierre takes his Diamond Race points tally to five, sitting just behind Phillips (six points) and one place ahead of Saladino (two points) in the chase for the coveted title of world No.1 and the $US40,000 ($A47,147.57) cash prize.
The 14-meet Diamond League tour now moves to New York for Round five of the series on Saturday, June 12.
Headlining the action in New York will be world, Olympic, world indoor and Commonwealth Games champion Steve Hooker (pole vault), Olympic silver medallist Sally Pearson (100m hurdles) and national 5000m and 10,000m champion Eloise Wellings (5000m) pending Visa approval.
AAP
