Charles Friedek, the 1998 World Cup winner from Leverkusen, won the men's triple jump with his first effort, 17.18 metres, equal to his personal best, and the best jump of this indoor season, but the poorest winning mark in the history of these championships.
Friedek was happy with his medal but not his mark, and complained that the runway had been too bouncy.
Defending world champion Yoelbi Quesada of Cuba went into the final three rounds in second place, but was unable to improve his mark much, closing with 16.92 and slipping to fifth place, behind Bulgaria's Rostislav Dimitrov (17.05) and LaMark Carter, of the United States (16.98).
Note:
Dimitrov was later stripped of his silver medal and given a public warning after failing a doping control test for stimulants. Carter was upgraded to silver, while the bronze went to Hungary’s Zsolt Czingler.
