BERLIN - Long jump world champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany
plans to move to the United States in summer to be trained by former
great Carl Lewis.
Mihambo, 26, told the Bild am Sonntag Sunday paper that Lewis and
sprint coach Leroy Burrell can make her a better athlete at a
training centre in Houston, Texas.
"He is the athlete of the century. I admire what he has achieved in
two sprint events, the relay, thelong jump," Mihambo said.
"I want to develop as an athlete and as a person. This is the case in
this environment. Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell, who will become my
sprint coach, have been among the world elite for years. I can learn
a lot from them because they followed the same path."
Lewis famously won 100m, 200m, 4x100m and the first of four straight
long jump golds at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In all, he won
nine Olympic golds and eight world titles.
Mihambo won last year's world title with 7.30m in Doha after
dominating the entire season, and has a third-place finish over 100m
at the 2019 national championships.
Germany's Sportswoman of the Year was a top favourite for the Tokyo
Olympics which have now been postponed to 2021 because of the
coronavirus pandemic.
Mihambo and the now 58-year-old Lewis met recently via an online
event, and she named the first talks "very inspirational."
"It is time for something new," she said, adding she feels that "now
is the time for such a big step" and plans to move to Taxas in August
- coronavirus permitting.