‘Blade Jumper’ Markus Rehm wins long jump at Glasgow GP

GLASGOW, Scotland – Paralympic champion Markus Rehm leaped 8.10 meters to win the long jump at the Glasgow Grand Prix on Saturday, boosting his profile while he attempts to prove his eligibility for the Olympic Games.

A single-leg amputee nicknamed “Blade Jumper,” Rehm was making his first appearance at an IAAF indoor event. The German is attempting to prove to the world governing body that his carbon-fiber prosthesis does not give him an advantage over able-bodied rivals, so he can compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic games in Rio de Janeiro.

Rehm won the event with his fourth jump to beat Fabrice Lapierre (8.08 meters), a Mauritian-born Australian long jumper. Rehm set a world record of 8.40 meters in winning the T44 long jump event at the IPC world championships in Doha in October.

Rehm lost his lower right leg in a boating accident when he was 14. He takes off using his prosthetic leg when he competes in the long jump, and says he doesn’t get any advantage using this technique.

Olympic and world long-distance champion Mo Farah won the 3,000 meters in 7 minutes, 39.55 seconds in his first track race of the year.

“It was kind of a messy race,” said Farah, who said he will not be competing at the world indoor championships in Portland next month. “At the beginning, it was quick, but I knew from 2,000 we were down (on world-record pace), so I was just trying to win the race in front of the home crowd.”

Fellow Briton Sean Safo-Antwi captured the 60 meters in 6.56 seconds, as former world 100 champion Kim Collins pulled up midway through the race with an apparent left leg injury. Collins was quickest in the heats.

All athletes wore bibs with the message “I Run Clean,” as the IAAF grapples with doping scandals.