Christian Olsson (SWE) equels the World Indoor Triple Jump record (© Getty Images)
Swedish Olympic Triple Jump champion Christian Olsson underwent a fourth operation yesterday (Tues) on the injury to the right foot that has troubled him since the first round of the Athens Olympic Games final. Keyhole surgery was performed in Gothenburg, Sweden, by sports injury specialist Leif Swärd.
It is two months since the previous operation in Holland. Olsson is reported to have left the clinic without a plaster cast.
“Now we know where we stand, we are focused and we have a plan,” coach Yannick Tregaro told the Swedish press. “When I went to Australia in the autumn I could see there was an enormous improvement. The third operation went well and increased movement a lot. It is almost as good as the good foot.”
Though Olsson will be out of action for four to six weeks he still intends to join the rest of the Swedish squad at training camp in South Africa next week. This latest operation means that Olsson will be unable to defend his World Indoor Championship title in Moscow, next March but may recover in time to fit in some competitions at the end of the indoor season.
“The goal is to be injury free and concentrate everything on the summer,” said Tregaro. This summer Olsson will be hoping to defend his European title, with the championships taking place on home soil in Gothenburg. It was at the World Championships there in 1995 that Olsson became captivated by the triple jump after witnessing Jonathan Edwards’ epic double World record triumph.
Michael Butcher for the IAAF
