Carolina Kluft (SWE) qualifies for the Long Jump final (© Getty Images)
Sweden’s Olympic Heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft will compete indoors at both the Long Jump and 60m Hurdles at the Norwich Union Grand Prix – IAAF Indoor Permit - meeting in Birmingham, UK on 18 February 2005.
The Swede who took the World Indoor Long Jump bronze last winter in Budapest, will go head-to-head in both events with Britain’s Kelly Sotherton, who finished third behind Klüft at the Olympics.
Kluft said: "I'm looking forward to the Norwich Union Grand Prix and to competing with your very own star Kelly Sotherton in both the hurdles and long jump.
"It will be great to come back to Birmingham to compete with as great an athlete as Kelly. I think we will have a lot of fun and the last time I was in Birmingham it was a wonderful crowd. It will be a good competition for me before the European Indoor Championships in Madrid two weeks later."
Kluft is one of the biggest global stars in women's athletics at the moment and is expected to be joined by a number of other Olympic champions at Britain’s National Indoor Arena on 18 February.
World Indoor 60m champion Jason Gardener, a member of Britain's Olympic 4x100m relay winning quartet, is already on the start list, and talks are ongoing to sign up Kelly Holmes for the meeting.
Meanwhile Sweden's other two Olympic athletics gold medal winners from Athens, high jumper Stefan Holm and triple jumper Christian Olsson, will be in the Swedish side for the Norwich Union International match in Glasgow on 29 January 2005.
