Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford claims he will leap further than he did at London 2012 at this year’s World Championships despite finishing third at the latest Diamond League meeting in Shanghai.
Rutherford’s personal best remains 8.35m but the 8.31m he jumped in London was enough to secure an historic gold for the 26-year-old.
The 8.08m he managed in China on Saturday – the second meeting of the Diamond League season – was some way off his best and he was outdone by home favourite Jinzhe Li who stole the show with a leap of 8.34m.
Fellow Brits Chris Tomlinson (7.66m) and JJ Jegede (7.58m) finished ninth and 11th respectively but Milton Keynes athlete Rutherford believes more is to come with the Worlds in Russia in August fast approaching .
“I go to every competition to win it, that's why I'm disappointed to finish third,” said Rutherford.
“By the time Moscow comes around I expect to be in very good shape and hopefully able to jump a lot further than last year.”
Meanwhile in the high jump, Olympic bronze medallist Robbie Grabarz equalled his season’s best of 2.24m but could only manage a fifth-place finish.
© Sportsbeat 2013