By Sierra Webster
Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese are used to competing with and against one another in the women’s long jump, securing gold and silver medals, respectively, for the United States at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Bartoletta and Reese competed again Friday night at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field. This time, Reese clinched the victory with a jump of 23 feet (7.01 meters)—exactly seven inches ahead of Bartoletta.
“She’s a great competitor,” Reese said. “We were laughing about the whole Olympic rematch. It’s fun competing against her.”
Said Bartoletta: “On the one hand we’re fierce competitors. On the other hand, it’s like, ‘Oh, hey! It’s nice to see you again.’ I know she’s gonna bring it every time, so it’s nice to have that incentive to keep training hard and competing well.”
Coming into the first Diamond League meet featuring the women’s long jump, Reese knew Bartoletta could put up the marks to take the victory again.
“She can jump seven meters easy whenever she feels like it, and I’m just the same as her,” Reese said. “It’s always like a waiting game who can jump the farthest first, so, it’s always fun.”
Reese was hoping to come in early and jump 23 feet before the sun and temperatures dropped, and she did just that. On just the second jump, Reese secured the victory.
Bartoletta, who flew in from Tokyo earlier this week and is still recovering from her trip, trailed with 22-5 inches (6.83 meters).
“I don’t even know what day it is now. Honestly, I don’t,” she said, laughing.
Regardless, Bartoletta was pleased with her performance Friday night, saying it’s a good start. Her hope was to get an idea of where she was for the season and what she needed to work on.
“I learned that I’m very impatient with the jumps,” she said. “It’s counterintuitive because I use speed as my advantage, but I actually have to force myself to go slower in a lot of ways to maximize my jump.”
