Kluft back in the spotlight and jumping for joy

BARCELONA, (Reuters) – For former world and Olympic  heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft, scraping into the European  championship long jump final as the last qualifier yesterday  was a huge achievement.

Kluft, who completely tore a hamstring last July, was  delighted to be back in the spotlight after being given a wild  card by the Swedish team for the Barcelona event because she had  failed to make the entry standard.

“It feels like a big victory. It’s really great,” a beaming  Kluft told reporters after jumping a season’s best of 6.62  metres at a hot and sunny Olympic Stadium.

“It’s been a really tough year for me…I missed so much  training but I’m so happy to be in a European championship final  in the long jump.

“One year ago I was walking on crutches and now I’m standing  here so it feels really, really good.

“I want to jump further of course. I want to jump up to my  personal best but I need more training, so next year I will be  in better shape,” added the 27-year-old who has a best distance  of 6.97.

As a heptathlete, Kluft was unbeatable, winning 19  successive competitions between 2001 and 2007, including the  2004 Olympics, three world championship golds and the 2002  European title which she retained in front of her doting home  crowd in Gothenburg four years later.