Last year Morris won the AG Memorial Van Damme with a fabulous effort of 5.00m. Stefanidi only jumped 4.76m but became the winner of the Diamond League. “I was mentally tired after winning gold in Rio. Now I still feel very good, both physically and mentally. This is the best season of my career. I am the World Champion now and I scored 13 victories in a row, so I am the athlete to beat, but that doesn’t disturb me. It’s the kind of pressure that I like.”
And the pressure is on, because the winner of the Diamond League Final also becomes the overall Diamond League winner. “So my first target will be to win the competition next Friday. If I can do that with a personal best or a meeting record or a Diamond League record, the better that would be."
Stefanidi set her Personal Best at the WC in London recently, with a winning jump of 4.91m. “I feel that I am able to jump 5.00m. The rivalry with Sandi is very motivating. We get along very well, but on the track we are rivals of course. We push each other and we both get better this way.”
“The World Record is something that is sitting somewhere behind in my head. It is not a real target yet. I am a strong competitor at Championships, that is my focus. Medals can not taken away from you, records can. Friday I want to defend my title as the Diamond League Winner”, concludes Stefanidi, full of confidence.
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