‘Something I’ve wanted my whole life’ – Lake makes British history with 2.00m leap

Morgan Lake placed third in the Zurich Diamond League Final, becoming the first British woman to surpass two meters in the high jump.

At her first attempt, Lake soared above the mark to become the 86th woman to reach the iconic height.

With just over a fortnight until the start of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the 28-year-old, whose previous personal best was set in February 2023, was clearly moved.

“It’s crazy. I spent my entire life in the moment, but as soon as I finished, I was just so emotional. Lake expressed his happiness in a sigh.

I said, “I’m going to enjoy it and just jump as high as I can tonight.” If I just believe in myself, it only serves to show me what I can do.

At 1.97m, Lake required all three of her subsequent attempts to maintain the competition after three successive clearances at lower heights.

The Briton maintained that momentum despite the fact that the world-class lineup quickly passed by at the temporary venue where Wednesday’s field event finals took place in the heart of Zurich.

Lake admitted that she had always believed she would jump two meters every year since she first jumped 1.90 meters when she was 16 years old.

Although it hasn’t been as straightforward, she will have faith that she can finish in fourth place in Budapest two years ago, making it clear that she can break that bar before the World Championships.

According to Lake, “The main thing to do is to keep the body healthy and not try to change too much” between now and Tokyo.

Armand Duplantis, a pole vault champion from Sweden, won his fifth straight Diamond League title in preparation for a third consecutive world championship.

Duplantis, the double Olympic champion, won with a clearance of 6 meter after Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis needed three more to pass it before both of them failed at 6.10 m.

The 25-year-old broke the record for the 13th time earlier this month with a clearance of 6.29m, which is his third successive year of improving the mark.

“I shouldn’t take it for granted because it’s really special.” I just need to enjoy it because five in a row is crazy and time moves so quickly, Duplantis said.

With a best jump of 4.82m, reigning world champion Katie Moon of the United States won the women’s pole vault title.

The first six awards were given out, with Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer leaping 8.32 meters to claim the men’s and women’s shot put titles, respectively, while Sarah Mitton and American Joe Kovacs won the men’s and women’s titles.

The athletes who recorded the most points at each of the 14 regular series meetings this year compete in the two-day winner-takes all Diamond League Final.

On Thursday, the action in Zurich comes to a close with 26 finals.