Holm a picture of consistency

Stefan Holm put both hands to his face and stood for more than a minute in that position. It might have been the pose of an athlete preparing to salvage their season.

Not so, it was just an example of the concentration that goes through the mind of the most consistent performer in the sport.

He was on the track, in lane four, and when he had finished composing himself, he danced towards the high jump mat and took himself over the barrier to clear 2.30 metres.

The competition at the World Athletics Final still had a way to go, but did we even need to doubt who would win?

Holm, 24, is one of the best athletes of the year and the facts speak for themselves. The Swedish star had competed in 21 high jump competitions this year and won them all, a phenomenal record of victories that he added to today with another triumph in Monaco. It is the longest winning streak in the sport.

But his ability to maintain a fabulous rhythm does not end there: he is the master of precision.

There is nothing dramatic about his jumping. A long wait followed by a run up of short strides and a take off where he has the ability to twist early to allow his body the room to sail over the bar.

He was competing last today of the eight, entering the competition at 2.18m and clearing that height, and those at 2.23m, 2.27m, 2.30m and, the winning effort, 2.33m, on his first attempt. No messing about, just pure clinical jumping that his rivals cannot contend with.

The closest was Russian Yaroslav Rybakov who was second with 2.30m but Holm is one of the unsung heroes of this spectacular athletics summer. And now he has more than just a World Championships in Helsinki to target next summer.

Sweden is enjoying one of its finest periods of athletics success with Carolina Kluft, Christian Olsson and Holm, 28, who has dramatically taken what seems to be an unbreakable stranglehold on his event.

But he remains determined that he is far from contented and the national record of one of his country's greatest heroes remains his goal.

Holm topped the World Rankings after jumping 2.36m in July, but Patrik Sjoberg cleared 2.42mon June 30 1987 and that is what he is after. "I still don't have that national record yet," he said.

But in typical fashion, there is no panic. Just a knowledge that his progress is taking him towards new barriers and he is not going to be rushed into trying to go too far too soon.

"I'm still hunting 2.40m," said Holm, who failed three times at that height having already won the competition today. "I am satisfied with my performance because you never know at this time of the year what is still left.

"I took part in 22 competitions this season and I won them and there is the Olympics."

His run goes back all the way to the indoor season in Glasgow, Scotland, a base that saw him progress to win World Indoor gold in Budapest, the third time he has won that title. Since finishing second at the World Championships in Paris last summer, he has not put a foot wrong. Few competitors can say that.

IAAF