Brittney Reese, after winning Olympic silver: 'I'd be the Usain Bolt of long jump.'

Josh Peter, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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TOKYO — American Brittney Reese, beat on the last round of the women’s long jump Tuesday at the Tokyo Games, graciously accepted the silver medal and declared who she thinks is the greatest long jumper of all time.

"I am," she said. "Point blank."

Competing in her fourth and final Olympics, Reese, 34, reflected on her accomplishments.

Three Olympic medals — a gold at the 2012 Olympics, a silver at the 2016 Olympics and another silver here.

Eleven medals in all, including seven golds and a silver at the world championships.

Yet she suggested she didn’t get the respect she deserved — "I mean, that’s obvious," she said — largely because she competed in a field event.

American Brittney Reese competes in the long jump Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics.
American Brittney Reese competes in the long jump Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics.

"It just sucks that, you know, if I was on the track side of the sport, I’d be the Usain Bolt of long jump," she said. "But just being on the field-event side, it just doesn’t get that attention that it deserves."

The hole on Reese’s résumé is the lack of a world record or Olympic record. In fact, she has no record jumps. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who won an Olympic gold and two Olympic bronzes in the long jump, still holds the Olympic record.

But Reese is known for coming through in the clutch, for her "sixth-round knockouts."

On Tuesday, she led heading into the sixth and final round with a jump of 22 feet, 10½ inches. Malaika Mihambo of Germany took the lead on her sixth jump with a distance of 22 feet, 11¾ inches, and Reese still had a final attempt — her last of the competition.

She jumped 22 feet, 7 inches, relegating her to the silver medal.

"I’m used to beating people on the sixth jump," she said. "... So it’s kind of funny to end my career that way."

When asked why this would be her final Olympics, Reese mentioned her son.

"I think it feels like it’s time for me to step away and spend more time with him because he’s starting sports," she said. "I’ll probably go cry in the car, but as of right now I’m good."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brittney Reese wins silver for USA in women's long jump at Olympics