Women triple jump final
Marinova uses Sydney method
If something works well the first time, why not do it again? That simple strategy worked perfectly well for Tereza Marinova in the women’s triple jump. Last September in Sydney, the bouncing Bulgarian had put up a big number — in fact, the best of her life - in the first round of the Olympic final then watched the rest of the field unsuccessfully try to better it. She did the same thing here, scoring a lifetime indoor best of 14.91 as the last jumper in the first round. The best mark in the world for 2001, only five other women have ever bettered the performance.
The silver medal position was also decided early. Olga Bolshova stood 2nd after the first round with her Moldavian record 14.17, but Tatyana Lebedyeva surpassed that with a 14.29 in the second stanza. The Russian improved to 14.53 in the third round and 14.85 in the fifth, but couldn’t quite catch Marinova. Bolshova’s mark held down the final medal position through rounds two and three, but in four American champion Tiombe Hurd surprised by producing a personal record 14.19.
The second half of the competition was almost completely devoid of excitement, as only Hurd (fourth round) and Lebedyeva (fifth round) were able to improve on what they had done in the first three rounds.
Marinova's victory also made her the first Olympic Champion to win gold in Lisbon.
