Long Jumper Janay DeLoach Convinced She Was Wrongly Denied a Medal at Worlds

Published by the Denver Post on March 24, 2016

Long jumper Janay DeLoach went to the track and field indoor world championships last week hoping for a medal. She left believing she deserved one.

DeLoach, a Colorado State graduate who won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, finished fourth on Friday at the IAAF world meet held in Portland, Ore., but she believes her last jump was marked incorrectly. A lot of people agreed with her.

DeLoach was marked at 22 feet, 7¼ inches (6.89 meters), putting her 1.57 inches behind bronze medalist Lorraine Ugen of Great Britain (6.93). American Brittney Reese won with a jump of 23-8¼.

"When I got out of the pit off that last jump, I was certain I medaled," said DeLoach, 30. "I looked back and saw it was past 7 meters, I clapped, I just knew it."