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Rutherford inspired to jump even further by record furore

Greg Rutherford jumped 8.51 metres in San Diego © AP

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Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford insists he is not losing any sleep over Chris Tomlinson's claim that his British record effort was illegal.

Rutherford soared 8.51 metres in San Diego last month to break Tomlinson's best though his compatriot was quick to publicly challenge the London 2012 gold medallist's jump, posting a picture of his foot over the line on Twitter and saying it was "clearly a foul".

400m might kill off 'The Beast', says Blake

Yohan Blake is set to compete in Saturday's 150m Great CityGames sprint in Manchester © PA Photos

• Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake may be nicknamed 'The Beast' but he says running the 400 metres would probably be the end of him.
• Compatriot and six-times Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt has mulled running the one-lap discipline before though 2011 world 100m champion Blake cannot stomach the thought.
• "400 training is rough. If I'm doing sprint training and I'm vomiting and I'm dropping down, just imagine the 400," Blake said ahead of Saturday's 150m Great CityGames sprint in Manchester.
• "I just want to stick to the 100/200. I could do the 400, but long jump is something to look more at in the future, although all the pounding on the shin, it's kind of hard you know? It's kind of hard."

Rutherford has no idea what Tomlinson, also in Manchester for the Great CityGames, will say to him when they meet tomorrow but he remains unfazed by the saga.

"Whenever we see each other at the track we say hi," Rutherford told ESPN. "Oddly in a sport like this you have to just get on with what you do, you can't worry about other people around you.

"I'll say hello probably. He may not want to shake my hand, who knows."

Rutherford also admitted he is thriving on the confusion surrounding his British record and says he will only leap further as a result.

There is now a process to officially verify Rutherford's jump as the national record - with Tomlinson's own website still claiming he is the record holder - though the 27-year-old is used to people scratching their heads when he wins.

"I seem to be one of the only people out there telling everybody 'I have the ability to do this' and then when it happens people seem to be slightly confused by it all," Rutherford added.

"Maybe I've got more belief in myself than others do.

"I've always said if I'm in good shape I will always jump far. I said it going into the Olympics, that I was fit and healthy and therefore I had a great chance of winning, yet still everyone turned around and there seemed to be some confusion when that happened.

"I aim to continuously jump further. I'll be aiming to jump far wherever I go."

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