We focus on the women’s triple jump as part of our IAAF World Championships history series

The triple jump made its debut in Stuttgart in 1993 and was won by Anna Biryukova, who had failed to make the long jump final and was in her first season at the event.

She opened with 14.62m and improved to a PB 14.77 in round two. That would have been enough for gold but she wrapped it up with the first 15-metre jump, a 15.09m in the fifth round.

Previous record-holder Yolanda Chen took silver with a 14.70m final jump.

Three days after Jonathan Edwards had smashed the men s world record in Gothenburg in 1995, Inessa Kravets was also in sensational form. After two fouls, she sailed out to a historic 15.50m, which like Edwards mark, remains unchallenged 20 years later.

It was a good-standard competition as Iva Prandzheva and Biryukova were also over 15 metres.

Britain s Michelle Griffth was a finalist in the first two championships and her compatriot Ashia Hansen headed qualifying in Athens in 1997 with 14.77m. That would have won a bronze in the final but she ended up fifth with 14.49m.

Sarka Kasparkova, who had been second in 1993 until the fifth round but finished seventh, this time had a more enjoyable penultimate round as her 15.20m snatched gold from Rodica Mateescu s opening round 15.16m. It also moved her to second all- time.

Paraskevi Tsiamita wasn t even good enough to make the Greek team in her home championships and was only ninth in the 1998 European Championships, but in Seville in 1999, dominated qualifying with a Greek record 15.07m. In the final she opened with 14.88m and no one else could jump better than 14.61m. World indoor champion Hansen, who had two fouls and a 13.39m where she took off well over a metre before the board, was last.

Tatyana Lebedeva had been joint favourite but ended up fourth, although she made no mistake in Edmonton in 2001. Opening with 15.11m, she improved to 15.25m in the final round to go third on the all-time list, winning by 65 centimetres from Francoise Mbango of Cameroon. For the third championships in succession, Hansen jumped further in qualifying (14.51m) than in the final (14.10m), where she was seventh.

The one-two was the same in Paris in 2003 with Mbango s 15.05m in round two, overtaken by the Russian s 15.16m in the third round.

Lebedeva had an injured Achilles in Helsinki in 2005 and withdrew before the final. The winner was Trecia Smith, who had a previous best of eighth in 2001 but dominated the three final rounds with consecutive jumps of 14.91m, 15.11m and 15.01m.

Yargelis Savigne was second but was a different proposition in Osaka in 2007. The Cuban opened with 15.28m to win easily with Lebedeva and Hrysopiyi Devetzi also over 15 metres. The Greek had earlier achieved the best-ever qualifying mark of 15.09m.

The standards dropped in Berlin in 2009 and, while six had bettered 14.70m in Japan, only Savigne did so in Germany with three jumps in the 14.85m to 14.91m range.

Anna Pyatykh achieved her fourth consecutive top-four place and second bronze medal.

In Daegu in 2011, a thigh injury limited Savigne to sixth place as she retired after three rounds. Gold went to Ukraine s Olga Saladukha, who had been seventh in Osaka, and her 14.94m opening jump narrowly beat Olga Rypakova s fifth-round 14.89m.

Yamile Aldama, who had been second for Cuba in 1999 and fourth for Sudan in 2005, finished fifth for Britain in her sixth World Championships.

It was close again in Moscow in 2013, though it was not a particularly high standard or an interesting competition as the three medal-winning jumps all happened in the second round. Colombia s Daegu bronze medallist Caterine Ibarguen won with a world-leading 14.85m from Ekaterina Koneva s 14.81m with Saludukha third.

Triple jump

Year | Winner | Distance | GB position and mark
1993 Anna Biryukova (RUS) 15.09 9 Michelle Griffith 13.69
1995 Inessa Kravets (UKR) 15.50 12 Michelle Griffith 13.59 (14.03q)
1997 Sarka Kasparkova (CZE) 15.20 5 Ashia Hansen 14.49 (14.77q)
1999 Paraskevi Tsiamita (GRE) 14.88 12 Ashia Hansen 13.39 (14.28q)
2001 Tatyana Lebedeva (RUS) 15.25 7 Ashia Hansen 14.10 (14.51q)
2003 Tatyana Lebedeva (RUS) 15.18 No competitor
2005 Trecia Smith (JAM) 15.11 No competitor
2007 Yargelis Savigne (CUB) 15.28 No competitor
2009 Yargelis Savigne (CUB) 14.95 No competitor
2011 Olga Saladukha (UKR) 14.94 5 Yamila Aldama 14.50
2013 Caterine Ibarguen (COL) 14.85 No competitor

Points table (8 for 1st etc)
1. RUS 91
2. CUB 58
3. UKR 34
4. GRE 30
5. BUL 26
6. ITA 22
7. JAM 18
8. ROU 17
9= CMR 14
9= COL 14
11. CZE 13
12. GBR 10

Find other event-by-event history features here

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