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Thursday, 8 August, 2002, 20:51 GMT 21:51 UK
Edwards' reign comes to an end
Edwards was unable to repeat his gold of four years ago
Jonathan Edwards' run of championship golds came to an end in Munich as Sweden's Christian Olsson claimed first place in the European Championships triple jump. Edwards was unable to find his form and had to settle for bronze behind Germany's Charles Friedek. Britain's other big hope, Phillips Idowu, was also out of form on the night, and he finished down in fifth.
"I was awful really - no more no less," said Edwards. "I knew half-way through the competition that this was not going to be my day. "I did nearly win it with that last jump but I would not have deserved to. I just did not feel good tonight.
Olsson led throughout, and Edwards was relying on a modest effort of 17.32m from the first round to give him third place. Edwards put in a massive leap that would have taken gold with his final effort but it was a no-jump by just one-and-a-half centimetres. He had been hampered by a heel injury in qualifying, and he said it had been a problem in the final. "It played on my mind, I doubted whether I'd be able to do more than one jump tonight. "It is frustrating, but you have to do it on the day. In Manchester I could have jumped 18.50, but tonight I was struggling to jump 17.30." Edwards is still world, Olympic and Commonwealth champion, and the question is whether there is anything left for him to prove.
"I was always going to have to make a significant decision about whether to carry on at the end of the year and it is no less significant because of this defeat. "At the end of the day I have still got the best three jumps in the world this year so I am still in good shape and one bad day does not change that. "If I do retire I don't think I will be going out as a loser because I have lost my European title. "I still have to pinch myself sometimes the career I have had." Idowu's first jump was his best technically, but it was marginally a no-jump. After a poor second effort he had to make sure with a modest leap in the third round to qualify for the final three jumps. But even then he was unable to get his timing right. Olsson's winning leap was 17.53, while Friedek's leap of 17.33, a season's best, was just a centimetre ahead of Edwards.
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