Long-jumper banking on run-up revamp

LONG-JUMPER Brooke Stratton is hoping she can get a similar result by following a strategy which worked wonders for world javelin champion Kelsey-Lee Barber.

Midway through the javelin final, Barber changed her run-up with the result being the winning throw at her final attempt.

Stratton has gone for the run-up change a bit earlier than her teammate, but she is hoping it can provide a muchneeded spark coming into the world championships.

“Competition-wise I haven’t exactly competed as well as I had hoped,” Stratton said. “The distances haven’t quite been where I wanted them to be. But having been in Italy for the last few weeks I feel things have started to click.

“I’ve changed my run-up a little bit which I think has been the issue this season. I wasn’t quite running through the board. I was hesitating.

“I took my run-up back just over a metre. It doesn’t sound like much but over 35m it’s a pretty big change.

“Hopefully that will allow for more speed through my take-off.”

The good thing for Stratton, 26, is her ability to perform when the spotlight is at its brightest. At her Olympic debut in Rio, the Melbourne jumper finished seventh in the final and then backed it up with a sixth placing at the 2017 world championships. The Australian record holder then claimed the silver medal (6.77m) at last year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

“I feel like I’m a big-time performer and I always seem to rise to the big occasions,” Stratton said.