Greg Rutherford says there is ‘more to come’ after record jump

The long jumper broke the British record with a leap of 8.51 metres

Barry Roberts
Saturday 26 April 2014 12:44 BST
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Rutherford has not competed since suffering a hamstring injury
Rutherford has not competed since suffering a hamstring injury (GETTY IMAGES)

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Greg Rutherford said yesterday he was “absolutely buzzing” after setting a British long jump record of 8.51 metres in Chula Vista, San Diego.

The Olympic champion, who had equalled Chris Tomlinson’s British record of 8.35m in May 2012 ahead of the London Games, smashed that late on Thursday night in the States.

Rutherford wrote on Twitter: “I’m shaking. I can’t believe how amazing today has been. Absolutely buzzing #8.51. Wow my body is feeling it now. Thanks for all the amazing messages. I’ve waited a long time for this. More to come.”

Rutherford won gold at the 2012 Olympics with a winning distance of 8.31m.

Mo Farah, who won 10,000m gold on the same night as Rutherford’s victory in London, has been advised to “stick to the track” by his coach Alberto Salazar and forget about running marathons until after the Rio Olympics.

Farah, who also won 5,000m gold in 2012, made his marathon debut in London earlier this month and finished four minutes behind winner Wilson Kipsang in eighth place.

Salazar has engineered Farah’s rise on the track and believes that is where the 31-year-old athlete should focus his attention following that result on the roads of the English capital.

“Part of me doesn’t like to see Mo get beat but the fact that he did makes his decision clearer,” Salazar said. “Let’s stick with what he’s best at in the world, stick to the track through to Rio.

“This was a good year to experiment, because there are no World Championships. Now Mo has a full year to get back in track shape for the World Championships and another year to go until Rio.”

After the London Marathon, Farah said he wanted to return to that distance, as he had unfinished business.

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