Tamgho Ready to Please the Crowd in Doha Return

Doha , May 04 (QNA) - World and European indoor champion Teddy Tamgho looks forward to pleasing the Qatari crowd at the inaugural IAAF Diamond League event in Doha, where he set the first of his world indoor Triple Jump records.
"I am extremely happy to come back here. That s where my career really started to progress so I decided to start my season here. The crowd in Doha at the world indoor championships last year was magnificent and I hope to perform well on Friday," said the 21-year old Frenchman before heading for a practice session at the Qatar Sports Club warm-up track.
Tamgho landed at 17.90 in his sixth and last attempt to break the world indoor record and claim his first global title in Doha in March 2010.
The young Frenchman arrived in the Qatari capital on Sunday after fruitful training camps in the sand of Alicante, southern Spain, and two weeks in the southern French beach resort of Boulouris, under the guidance of his coach, Cuba s nine-time World and 2000 Olympic Long Jump champion Ivan Pedroso.
"We are training well with Pedroso. We will peak at the right time, but we are ready to jump well here in Doha. Pedroso and I have built up a great affinity. He is like a tutor for me and I learn from his vast experience," he added.
Last winter, he improved his global indoor mark twice on home soil, first at the National Championships (17.91) and then at the European Championships final (17.92) in Paris.
On Friday, the young Frenchman will start his Diamond League trophy defence at the Qatar Sports Club stadium against top men like Cuba s 2009 World Championships bronze medallist Alexis Copello, who won the Diamond League in Doha last year, Romania s 2004 Olympic runner-up Marian Oprea and Bahamas 2003 World and 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Leevan Sands.
He believes meetings like Doha, Lausanne and Monaco are fundamental part of his preparation for the World Championships in Daegu.
After landing at 17.98 in New York outdoors last year, Tamgho is the strongest candidate to become the third man in history to break the 18-meter barrier.
"The 18 meters is a matter of time. It could happen early or at the end of the season. They are in my legs. I have to patient and the record will arrive any time. I am not in a hurry," he concluded.(QNA)