By Anthony Foster in Baie-Mahault, Guadeloupe for TrackAlerts.Com
Long jumper Brittney Reese has won several major titles during her career, chief among them, the London Olympic Games, three World Championships and two World Indoor titles.
Now, the 28-year-old American has switched her focus from winning medals to breaking other barriers. The world record of 7.52m held by Russian Galina Chistyakova since 1988 is a target.
Reese is the third best indoor jumper of all-time, but her career best of 7.23m is the 10th on the world indoor list, but 13th with 7.25m outdoor.
“I’m preparing for a personal best, medals right now are not a big factor, but I feel like if I am chasing a world record, chasing something big, the medals will come,” she told TrackAlerts.Com in Guadeloupe on Friday ( 1 May).
“I just want to go out there and do the best I can,” she said ahead of the International Meeting Region de Guadeloupe on May 2.
Reese said her only outing this season was hampered by weather, so “tomorrow will be a better test for me to see where I am at in my training.”
“Just to come out here and put on a good show, marks really don’t matter right now, but I just want to come in here and work on some things,” said Reese, who played basketball in college.
In the women’s long jump, at the International Meeting Region de Guadeloupe, Reese will be up against fellow Americans Toni Smith, Andrea Geubelle, Whitney Gipson, and Alittia Boyd.
Bianca Stuart of Bahamas is also in the field.