Olympic champion Greg Rutherford wants to put the recent controversy surrounding his British long jump record behind him.
Rutherford has been under scrutiny after a picture appeared to show he may have overstepped at take-off at the San Diego event last month, prompting Chris Tomlinson, who previously jointly held the record, to raise concerns.
But the 8.51 metre jump has been declared legal and ahead of the pair’s clash at the BT GreatCity Games in Manchester this weekend, Rutherford admitted he found the commotion a bit confusing.
“I think people are looking at me to explain but ultimately I don’t know what there is to explain,” he said.
“If I turned up to an Olympic final and the same sort of scenario came about what would I do? Would I just say because of some grainy footage of someone taking a picture from behind you, you don’t want to be involved anymore?
“There’s always going to be people talking about things when you do well.”
Tomlinson, who finished sixth in London 2012, urged UK Athletics to examine the jump closely but claims he had full respect for Rutherford despite his complaint.
But the experience hasn’t put Rutherford off competing in major competitions and the new father-to-be is itching to get back on the iconic arena outside Manchester’s town hall.
“I think now I’m in a stable position and where I want to be and I aim to jump further,” he said.
“I think there is a lot of room for improvement still, it’s taken a long time for me to get to where I am.”
© Sportsbeat 2014