Christian Olsson facts for kids
Christian Olsson during the European Team Championships in Budapest, Hungary in June 2010
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| Full name | John Christian Bert Olsson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 January 1980 Gothenburg, Sweden |
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| Residence | Monaco | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 73 kg (161 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Triple jump, High jump | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Örgryte IS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 17.79 m 17.83 m (indoors) |
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Medal record
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Christian Olsson, born on January 25, 1980, is a famous Swedish athlete. He used to compete in two exciting sports: high jump and triple jump. Christian won many big awards, including an Olympic gold medal! He also earned gold and silver medals at the World Championships and several gold medals at European and World Indoor Championships. In 2004, he even won a huge prize of $500,000 in the IAAF Golden League, sharing a million-dollar pot with another athlete.
From 2007 until he stopped competing in 2012, Christian faced many injuries. These injuries often kept him from competing in major events.
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Christian Olsson's Early Life and Career
Christian Olsson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. He first became known internationally in 2001. That year, he won a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics.
Christian holds the Swedish national record for triple jump outdoors, which is 17.79 meters. He set this record at the 2004 Summer Olympics. His indoor national record is 17.83 meters, set in 2004. Christian won the Swedish Championships seven times. He also competed successfully in high jump at a national level.
Christian first got interested in triple jump after watching Jonathan Edwards. Edwards set a world record at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. Since 1999, Christian has been coached by Yannick Tregaro. Before that, Viljo Nousiainen was his coach.
Amazing Achievements in Triple Jump
On March 7, 2004, Christian Olsson made history at the 2004 World Indoor Championships in Athletics. He jumped 17.83 meters, which matched the World Record at the time.
Later that year, on August 23, 2004, he competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He jumped 17.79 meters, breaking his own national record. This amazing jump won him the gold medal! He was the first Swede to win an Olympic triple jump gold since Gustaf Lindblom in 1912. That was 92 years earlier! In that Olympic final, four of Christian's six jumps were longer than the silver medalist's best jump.
With his Olympic gold, Christian achieved something very special. He held the Olympic, World Indoor, World Outdoor, European Indoor, and European Outdoor titles all at once. This is a rare accomplishment in athletics.
Challenges and Comebacks
After his big win in 2004, Christian faced a foot injury. This injury made it hard for him to triple jump at full speed. It healed very slowly, causing problems even into 2006.
In June 2006, Christian competed again for the first time after his injury. He jumped 17.09 meters, showing he was getting back in shape. A month later, he won a gold medal at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics in his hometown of Gothenburg. His winning jump was 17.67 meters.
At the start of 2007, Christian got injured again. This meant he could not compete at the European indoor championships. He returned to competition in June at an IAAF Golden League event in Oslo, jumping 17.33 meters. In July, he won another Golden League event in Paris with a jump of 17.56 meters. However, at a Golden League event in Rome, he had to stop due to a cramp.
Christian went to the 2007 World Championships in Athletics but had to withdraw. He got injured during training before the competition.
After almost a year of rehabilitation, he returned in July 2008. He competed at an event in Stockholm, but had to stop due to another injury. After this, he announced he would not compete for the rest of 2008. This meant he would miss the Beijing Olympics. He even thought about retiring from the sport. However, he agreed to carry the Swedish flag at the Olympic opening ceremony.
In July 2009, Christian made another comeback at a smaller event in Gothenburg. He jumped 17.24 meters. On August 3, 2009, he competed in the Swedish Championships in Malmö. He won with a jump of 16.72 meters. This was the first time since 2003 that he didn't jump 17 meters or more in a competition.
On May 14, 2012, Christian Olsson officially announced his retirement from professional triple jump competitions. Today, Christian Olsson lives with his family in Lindome, which is south of Gothenburg.
Competition Record
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
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Representing  Sweden |
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| 1999 | European Junior Championships | Riga, Latvia | 1st | High jump | 2.21 m |
| 2nd | Triple jump | 16.18 m | |||
| 2000 | European Indoor Championships | Ghent, Belgium | 22nd (q) | Triple jump | 15.95 m |
| Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 17th (q) | Triple jump | 16.64 m | |
| 2001 | European U23 Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 1st | Triple jump | 17.24 m (wind: -0.8 m/s) |
| World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 2nd | Triple jump | 17.47 m | |
| Goodwill Games | Brisbane, Australia | 2nd | Triple jump | 16.85 m | |
| 2002 | European Indoor Championships | Vienna, Austria | 1st | Triple jump | 17.54 m |
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 1st | Triple jump | 17.53 m | |
| 2003 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | Triple jump | 17.70 m |
| World Championships | Paris, France | 1st | Triple jump | 17.72 m | |
| 2004 | World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | Triple jump | 17.83 m |
| Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 1st | Triple jump | 17.79 m | |
| 2006 | European Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 1st | Triple jump | 17.67 m |
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | 4th | Triple jump | 17.23 m |
| 2011 | European Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 5th | Triple jump | 17.20 m |
| World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 6th | Triple jump | 17.23 m | |
Personal Bests
Christian Olsson achieved impressive personal bests in his career:
- Triple jump
- Indoor: 17.83 meters
- Outdoor: 17.79 meters
- High jump: 2.28 meters
- Long jump: 7.71 meters
Awards and Recognition
Christian Olsson received several international awards for his athletic achievements:
- Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year Trophy in 2003
- Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year Trophy in 2004
See also
In Spanish: Christian Olsson para niños
