By Owen Morgan
Welsh long jumper Rebecca Chapman certainly saved the best until last at the British Athletics Championships in Birmingham last weekend.
The Cardiff AAC athlete was already guaranteed a silver medal when she stood at the end of the runway at the Alexander Stadium for the final jump of the competition, which was also the last piece of action of the entire two day meeting.
With all the other events having come to an end, all eyes were on Chapman as she started a slow handclap to get the spectators in the main stand to join in and spur her on.
And spur her on they did, as she flew down the runway and launched into a huge leap, which was obviously her longest of the day and would possibly challenge Olympian Lorraine Ugen for the lead and British title.
For what seemed an eternity Chapman and the crowd waited for the distance to be revealed. When it was, the 24-year-old was leaping again . . . this time into the air with delight.
Although the jump was just five centimetres short of Ugen’s best, the distance of 6.54M was confirmed as a new Welsh record, beating Gill Regan’s existing 35-year-old distance by two centimetres.
The jump, also gave Chapman an “A” qualifying standard for next year’s Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast.
After being presented with her silver medal, a delighted Chapman said: “I am literally over the moon!
“It was really tense out there, I felt really nervous before the competition. I love jumping at Birmingham, I’ve always jumped really well here, but I wasn’t quite expecting that.
“My coach kept saying to me, start a clap, start a clap, trust me it really helps. But I count my run ups and I wouldn’t be able to count and start a clap.
“I said that if I was still in second going into the sixth round I would do it because I’d have nothing to lose, and it actually worked!
“I’m so happy. It’s also a Commonwealth “A” standard and that’s basically what I was after. That’s done now, so I’ve just got to go and build on that.
“It’s my first medal at the British Championships, so I’m really happy.”
Chapman, isn’t content to sit back on her laurels, despite having achieved a new record and Commonwealth Games qualifying distance.
“I’m flying to Belfast with the Welsh relay team this week, I’m jumping in the Netherlands at the weekend and then flying out to Sweden on the 25th to compete, so I’ve still got a few comps left. After that I’ll have a break for a little while because it feels like it’s been a long season.
“And then it’s preparing for the Commonwealth Games next year, hopefully, if I get selected. I’ve got the A standard now so I think I need to back it up with another couple of good performances and I should be in with a shout. So, fingers crossed.”