Stefan Holm collects consecutive national title No. 11 (© Hasse Sjogren)
Stefan Holm was one of three Swedish athletes to win an Olympic gold medal at the Athens Games in 2004 and as it stands he will be the only one capable of defending his title. With his compatriots Christian Olsson, injured, and Carolina Klüft, entered in the Long and Triple Jump, Holm will aim to become the first Swede to defend an Olympic title since John Mikaelsson grabbed gold in the 10,000m Race Walk in 1948 and 1952.
Holm declared recently that he would put an end to his 11-year-old career should he succeed in his attempt of winning a second Olympic gold medal. Holm has won seven of his eight competitions this summer including three clearances at 2.32m or higher.
The reigning World Indoor champion with a superb 2.36m first round clearance, Holm went one centimetre higher this summer, his 2.37m season’s best being second only to Andrey Silnov’s 2.38m.
It looked as though the Russian European champion’s best of the year had come too late but fortunately for him, the Russian’s team leader decided to not follow their top-three national trials rule to the letter! Indeed the 23-year-old Russian was fourth at the Russian national championships last month. Silnov was one of five athletes to clear 2.30m in Kazan but due to a higher number of failures he had to be content with fourth behind out-right winner Yaroslav Rybakov at 2.33m and joint second Andrey Tereshin and Vyacheslav Voronin at 2.30m.
Less than a week later, Silnov cleared a world season’s best 2.38m which prompted selectors to include him on the entry lists for Beijing; obviously he shares favourite status with Holm.
Three-time World Championships silver medallist Rybakov who also finished second to Holm in Valencia, will also lead the Russian challenge in China, his aim to improve on his 6th place finish at the Athens Games.
Other than the Russians, Holm will have to counter the American trio of Jesse Williams, Andra Mason and Dusty Jones with the latter 22-year-old having cleared 2.36m for third on the world season’s list. The USA hasn’t won gold in the event since Charles Austin’s Olympic record performance of 2.39m in Atlanta 1996.
There is another man who would like to follow the footsteps of Austin as the second Auburn-based athlete to win a High Jump gold and that is the Bahamas’ reigning World champion Donald Thomas who is coached by Jerry Clayton, the same man who led Austin to an American record 2.40m.
However, Thomas finds himself in a difficult position going into the Beijing as after being the revelation of 2007 he has been unable to clear a bar higher than 2.25m in 2008, a full 10 centimetres below his personal best. In addition, Thomas hasn’t won a competition since the 2007 World Athletics Final.
Kabelo Kgosiemang who set an national record 2.34m at altitude in Addis Ababa hasn’t been able to match his performance since but should he rise to the occasion he could well become Botswana’s first Olympic medallist.
Four other athletes have gone higher than 2.30m this year including Holm’s country-man Linus Thörnblad, Eike Onnen of Germany, Michael Hanany of France and Germaine Mason, a former Jamaican now competing for Great Britain.
Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF
