The women's triple jump was a recent addition to the Olympic Games in 1996. With the impressive performances of women in the triple jump for a decade or more prior to the Atlanta Olympics, the inclusion of their event there was long overdue. The following list takes a look at the women who have won Olympic triple jump gold:
Francoise Mbango Etone: A native of Cameroon, Etone won both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic women's triple jump golds. At the Beijing Olympics, she narrowly defeated Russian standout Tatyana Lebedeva with an Olympic record distance of 15.39 meters. (Lebedeva's silver was the third of her Olympic career in the triple jump with a bronze in 2004 and a silver in 2000.)
Etone's 2004 Olympic victory was achieved with a landing at 15.30 meters. She defeated Greek silver medalist Hrysopiyi Devetzi on her home track in Athens. (Devetzi was also the bronze medalist in the event in Beijing.)
In addition to Etone trying to defend her Olympic title this summer at the London Games, other names to watch for should include Olha Saladhuka of Ukraine-the 2011 World Championships gold medalist-and Yamile Aldama of Great Britain, who recently captured the 2012 World Indoor Championships title.
Tereza Marinova: The Bulgarian took the triple jump gold in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics with a hop, skip and jump of 15.20 meters. Marinova won by clearing the distance of Russian rising star Tatyana Lebedeva. Marinova's talent peaked in 2000-01 as she added to her Olympic feat with the World Indoor Championships title the next year.
Inessa Kravets: The Ukrainian achieved one of many milestones in her career by taking the first women's Olympic triple jump gold in 1996 in Atlanta. Kravets won by landing her final jump at 15.33 meters, easily outdistancing Russian silver medalist Inna Lasovskaya.
She still possesses the world record of 15.50 meters, set in 1995, making it one of the longest-lived athletics standards. However, her two-year ban starting in 2000 after a positive test for steroids calls into question the legitimacy of her career bests.
