Lake fails to replicate early season form in European Indoor high jump final

Morgan Lake. Credit: Getty Images for European Athletics

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Morgan Lake might just be in the form of her life right now, having jumped a new British record of 1.99m in Budapest just a few weeks ago, but she couldn't replicate that form at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul this weekend.

The Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow (WSEH AC) high jumper - coached by Robbie Grabarz - finished seventh overall after reaching her first European final. However, she managed just 1.86m, having regularly jumped over 1.90m this season and cleared 1.91m in qualifying.

Reflecting on the achievement afterwards, Lake said that she knows she's in top form physically and now just needs to get the mental side of her game right to start competing for medals.

Lake qualified for the women's high jump final with a leap of 1.91m, delivering exactly what she needed with her final attempt at that height. While the final began at 1.80m, Lake was one of only two competitors to pass at the height. She entered the competition at 1.86m and cleared it on her first attempt to boost confidence, however, three failures at her next height of 1.91m left her seventh overall. Speaking afterwards, she admitted she has some anxiety issues to deal with as she looks ahead to the outdoor season.

“There are raw emotions straight off the back of the competition,” she said. “At the beginning of the indoor season, I didn't want to do a championship, I just wanted to jump high indoors and get some confidence back in my jumping, which I've done breaking the British record. I've jumped higher and higher and at every competition I've been consistently jumping over 1.90s so I had a lot of confidence in me. I had a chat with Robbie, and we said we might as well have a crack at the Europeans. (Being) ranked second it would be stupid to leave it, knowing I'm in the best form.

“But I had a lot of anxiety that I hadn’t dealt with, and I guess it kind of manifests at the wrong time, in the final. I’ve pushed it away and pushed it away and I think, now I know physically where I’m at, it’s just that mental side that I need to get a hold of now. One side of my confidence has come so far back, I just need to tackle that other one.

“Looking back at that (1.99m), I know now I can jump that, so I don’t need to prove myself at every competition and keep pushing and pushing and pushing. I can let go and just enjoy it.”