PARIS, Feb 16- France’s world outdoor long jump champion Eunice Barber is to miss the indoor season so she can focus on training for August’s outdoor world championships in Helsinki, she announced on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Sierra Leone-born athlete, who had a miserable Olympics where she failed to reach the long jump final, said she had taken the decision after consulting with her coaches.
Having talked about my targets for 2005 with Bob Kersee and Claude Monot (her coaches) we decided that I should stay with Bob's group in California till the spring,'' said Barber, who took world silver in the heptathlon in 2003. As a result I will not compete in the indoor season,’’ added Barber, who first sprang to attention when she took heptathlon world gold in 1999.
The world championships take place from August 6-14.