USA's Tianna Bartoletta beats teammate Brittney Reese to win long jump gold
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Two-hundredths of a meter.
That’s all that separated Tianna Bartoletta from American teammate Brittney Reese in winning the Olympic long jump.
Bartoletta delivered a personal-best leap of 7.17 meters in her second-to-last jump to win gold in the event. Reese, the defending champion, had to settle on a silver medal with a jump of 7.15 meters. Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic took bronze.
Bartoletta’s win was a bit of an upset, but it isn’t her first taste of Olympic gold. She ran the lead-off leg in the final of the U.S. women’s world-record-setting 4×100 team that won gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
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The years between London and Rio were anything but easy for Reese. She had hip surgery in 2013 and took two years to recover and round back into top form. She won the event at the U.S. Olympic trials, signaling that she would be a strong contender in Rio.
Reese joins Jackie Joyner-Kersee as the only American women to win multiple Olympic medals in the long jump. Kersee took a gold and two bronze medals from 1988-1996.
The 29-year-old Reese and 30-year-old Bartoletta were the two oldest competitors in the 12-woman finals, and their experience helped them perform under Olympic pressure.
