Timing Her Run | Buschkuehl Bound for Budapest

In a sport where winning trumps records, Brooke Buschkuehl reflects on last year with mixed emotions. No woman in the world jumped farther than her in 2022, but they did on the day of the World Championships final – an occasion she will be out to rectify in Budapest this August.

Every top athlete knows that timing is everything. On the eve of the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Buschkuehl leapt into medal contention with a world-leading 7.13m to rewrite her own Australian record after seven-years. Falling two-centimetres shy of bronze in the final when finishing in fifth place, Buschkuehl lit the fuse for 2023:

“I’ve been consistent with results for a long time now and I felt like last year, I was in shape to bring home a medal in Eugene but I fell short. All this consistency and results, I know that I can be on the podium. I’ve just got to keep believing that I belong and that’s where I can.

“The number one goal for me is to medal. After being 2cm off in Eugene, I think it’s more than reasonable to have that goal. I’ve got to keep being consistent and hopefully some of my best jumps of last season become my worst as we head into Europe.”

Booking her ticket to Budapest when winning her fifth Australian title in Brisbane after securing a qualifier of 6.95m to clinch silver at the Commonwealth Games, Bushckuehl’s campaign will be aided by her early selection to the team.

“It definitely takes a lot of stress off being selected this early. There have been a lot of seasons in the past where I haven’t had a qualifier and haven’t had that automatic selection during the season in Australia. To tick that box and know that Budapest is going to happen provided I stay injury free and healthy, I couldn’t ask for more,” Buschkuehl said.

“Last season I didn’t even get an Australian domestic season in because of my surgery and rehab so I played catch up. I didn’t have a lot of jumping under my belt and it really reflected in my performances until it started to click. To be able to jump 7.13m and come away as the world lead last year shows me that anything is possible.”

The 29-year-old jumped consistently throughout the 2023 Chemist Warehouse Summer Series en route to winning the national title, competing against a rising crop of Australian long jumpers headed by Buschkuehl’s World Championships teammate Samantha Dale.

With a best of 6.73m and a worst of 6.56m across six appearances, Buschkuehl has a spring in her step with her newfound approach:

“I definitely feel like a more confident athlete after last season. I was really struggling with self-belief. A lot of my performances weren’t where I expected them to be. It took a lot of enjoyment out of the sport and I started to fixate on outcomes rather than the process, so I wasn’t able to enjoy it.

“My domestic season was up and down this year for sure, but I still felt that I was able to enjoy my sport for what it was instead of needing to be at my best every single competition. To come away as the number one long jumper at Nationals was great - particularly since I had some decent sized headwinds that weren’t helpful.”

Jumping 7.05m as a 23-year-old in 2016, Buschkuehl’s resurgence has witness her return to the distances she has always known to be within reach.

“With my 7.13 jump, I always knew I was capable of those distances. I jumped 7.05 when I was 23 so I knew that if I could have a good preparation and be injury free. Basically as good as it could get, I knew they were in me, but I didn’t expect them to come out last season because of my preparation leading into the season,” Buschkuehl said.

“At the time, I probably didn’t realise it but I had worked on my running a lot because I couldn’t jump for so long so my speeds on the runway were the best they ever were this season. As much as I thought it was a fluke at the time, I backed it up that jump with a 6.87m in Eugene and 6.95m in Birmingham.”

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 21/4/2023