Out of sorts world record-holder leaves it late to land her fourth consecutive womens triple jump title and snatch victory away from Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk.

The great ones always find a way.

Irrespective of how much the odds might be stacking up against them, regardless of how badly they might be performing, the best still manage to uncover the escape hatch which leads to victory.

At the World Championships in Budapest on Friday (August 25), Yulimar Rojas provided a perfect example of just how thats done as she clung on to her unbeaten record and secured a fourth consecutive world triple jump title. With her final jump of the night.

The 2017, 2019 and 2022 champion had not been beaten in a triple jump competition for over two years and you would have to go back to the 2016 Olympics to find the last time she didnt finish a global championships on the top step of the podium in the event.

In the Hungarian capital, however, defeat was staring her firmly in the face.

Ukraines Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, the European champion, had taken an immediate lead with an opening leap of 15.00m   a distance which Rojas had previously cleared 44 times in her career. On this occasion, however, the Venezuelan was struggling to get anywhere near it.

An opening jump of 14.33m was followed by a second-round foul. When her third-round leap only reached 14.26m, Rojas was left sitting in eighth place overall and only qualified for three further jumps on countback.

The alarm bells were truly beginning to ring as the body language of the world record-holder betrayed that all was not well. That fact was confirmed when should could not summon a legal jump in either rounds four or five.

With Romanchuk still out in front thanks to that first-round effort, Cubas Leyanis Pérez Hernandez (14.96m) in silver medal position and Jamaican Shanieka Ricketts (14.84m) in bronze, Rojas had one chance left.

Summoning whatever it was she needed, out came a leap of 15.08m and, suddenly, she shot from eighth to first. With that, all of the pressure immediately reverted to Bekh-Romanchuk, who now had to recover from the demoralising bursting of her own bubble.

The 2019 world long jump silver medallist set off with intent but ended up running through the pit, having to settle for silver. Rojas was running now, too, but also bouncing, in jubilation. Her astonishing unbeaten record remained intact.

Pérez Hernandez ultimately took bronze while Ricketts was fourth, despite improving to 14.93m with her final jump. Thea Lafond broke the Dominican record with 14.90m.