STOCKHOLM: World triple jump champion Christian Olsson was beaten by Romanian Marian Oprea at an IAAF Super Grand Prix meet on Tuesday, the first time the Swede has failed to win his event since February 2003.
Olsson could only jump 17.28 metres on his home ground, two centimetres behind Oprea's winning leap. Brazilian Jadel Gregorio was third at 17.15.
"I was a little stiff in the legs coming from Paris," said Olsson, who won with a jump of 17.41 at the Paris Golden League meet last Friday.
"Now I'm going home to prepare for Zurich. It will be a different Christian there," he said of the next Golden League meet on August 6.
Olsson is widely tipped as the favourite to win triple jump gold at the Olympics in Athens from August 13 to 29.
"We are five or six favourites (for the Olympics), but no-one impressed today...17.30 really is a shameful (winning) result, but everyone is preparing for the Olympics.
"Right now I'm a 17.60-17.80 jumper, but when I get a real hit, I will land on 18 metres," said the Swede, who is yet to produce an 18-metre jump.
His compatriot Carolina Kluft, the world heptathlon champion, underlined her contender status as a long jumper when she won the event with a 6.85-metre jump, ahead of American Grace Upshaw (6.71) and Australian Bronwyn Thompson (6.63).
The 21-year-old said her best was still to come.
"I'm not in my best shape yet, I have more to give," said Kluft. "It felt OK today, but it wasn't that explosive."
On a night of few other surprises, world champion Allen Johnson overcame pouring rain to win the 110 metre hurdles on 13.31, ahead of compatriot Terrence Trammell (13.38) and Jamaican Maurice Wignall (13.43).
Ghana's Aziz Zakari won the men's 100 metres in 10 seconds, followed by Leonard Scott on 10.13 and fellow American Mardy Scales on 10.17.
In the women's event, Ivet Lalova of Bulgaria won in 11.22, with Sherone Simpson of Jamaica second and Inger Miller third.
Women's world high jump champion Hestrie Cloete of South Africa was never threatened and won with a successful second attempt of 1.97 metres.
(China Daily 07/29/2004 page15)
