A life compressed into six jumps. Or measured by the precise, agonising clearance of a bar suspended in the air. For an elite athlete, years of sweat, early morning drills, and those sacrifices that we never hear of, culminate in moments so soul-searching they defy belief.

In the women’s long jump arena, the numbers told a gripping, nervous story: 6.49, X, 6.46, 6.31, 6.53, 6.49. For India’s Ancy Sojan, that penultimate 6.53m leap felt like aces on a card table sealing the deal. With China’s Tan Mengyi claiming bronze early via a brilliant 6.46m jump and Huang Yingying applying constant pressure, Ancy believed the gold was safely within her grasp. Anybody would.