Three PBs in a day for Carolina Kluft
19 July 2002 - It was just one of those days when everything goes well for Sweden’s Carolina Kluft today. The heptathlon defending World Junior Champion and this winter European bronze medalist in Vienna, Kluft just was in her own world in Kingston.
She lined up for the 100m hurdles under the morning Jamaican heat and with a 1.2m/s tail wind improved on her personal best by 35 hundredths of a second.
1.78m tall, Kluft headed to the high jump pitch with a lead of 63 points and fabulously cleared a new national junior record of 1.92 an exceptional feat for an all-round athlete.
“I have suffered a knee injury last year and this winter I concentrated specifically in high jump training so has to prevent a similar injury in the future.”
The comparison to high jump Swedish super star Kajsa Bergqvist is inevitable.
“Yes I know Kajsa very well and we often speak on the phone. We talk about everything, we are just good friends.”
Asked about what specific advice Kajsa, who is the current world leader with a new Swedish record of 2.04m had given her, Carolina seems vague.
“I can’t remember really.” And maybe, we think, she doesn’t want to reveal any Swedish-made secret.
Accompanied by two men who follow her and never lose touch with her throughout the four events of day one, Carolina explains: “It’s the coach of the team and the doctor. My coach is back home but don’t worry he already knows about my performances.”
Carolina refuses to make any predictions about her overall total tomorrow. “Before coming to Kingston I knew it would be a difficult competition. Because of all the expectations that were put on me and all the pressure. Everybody expects me to win gold here because I won two years ago in Santiago. But when I stepped on the track this morning, I had great sensations. It all felt perfect. So I just want to take each event as it comes and have fun.”
And as she reminds us, anything can happen in the heptathlon. We remember how France’s 1999 World Champion Eunice Barber fouled three times in Edmonton last year.
“The high jump is my best event of all seven. The long jump is not bad either. My weakest event is the shot put but I look forward to it today as I’m in such a great shape that maybe I can throw my pb,” said Kluft after cooling down from her massive 1.92 high jump clearance.
The smiling Swedish had a relatively poor shot put with her best effort being measured at 12.18m.
Carolina brilliantly ended her first day of competition with a 23.81 200m, her third personal best of the day. She will now have a good night sleep after stepping back on the track tomorrow morning for her remaining three events.
Not the least tired, Carolina who is en-route to set a new World Junior record explained why she loves her discipline.
“What is most important for me is to have fun in what I do. The heptathlon is great fun because I have the possibility of doing so many events. I love it. Maybe in the future I will find a specific discipline which will satisfy me more, I don’t know, but for the time being, I am going to stick to the seven events as it is what gives me most pleasure.”
With a personal best of 6272 points, Carolina needs to improve her score by 194 points to set a new World Junior record. At the end of day one and with four events completed, she is already in advance on her personal best she set earlier this year in Riga.
