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New horizons for heptathlon queen Kluft

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-04 09:11

Swedish heptathlon great Carolina Kluft is determined to bag two golds at the Beijing Olympics.

None will come from heptathlon, however, after she renounced the defence of her crown owing to a lack of motivation. Instead, she is planning to compete in the long jump and triple jump in Beijing.

The switch is partly because of a long list of fitness worries that have beset the 25-year-old in the past year, but her father Johnny said that she is also trying to rediscover her motivation.

"She is training less, and she is feeling less tired," he said. "It is an unbelievable challenge for her and she is aiming to do her best. Before, she had won everything and was starting to get bored."

The athlete herself said: "A lot of people will not understand my decision, but the motivation is not sufficiently there for the heptathlon.

"The decision was tough, and yet, at the same time, a simple one. I had been thinking about it for some time. I followed what my heart said."

Kluft's extraordinary achievements started when she clinched her first major title at the world youth championships in Chile when she was just 17.

Since then, she has gone on to be world heptathlon champion thrice (2003, 2005 and 2007), as well as Olympic gold medalist in 2004.

Her best-ever heptathlon score of 7,032 points is second only to the all-time women's record set at the 1988 Seoul Olympics by Jackie Joyner-Kersee of the United States.

Kluft has been working hard on her two disciplines, and is ranked eighth in the world in long jump.

At last month's European Cup in Istanbul, she jumped 6.87m, 10cm short of her personal best. She hopes to improve on that distance before heading out to Beijing.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/04/2008 page15)