View source for Christian Olsson

{{Short description|Swedish triple jumper (born 1980)}}
{{about|the Swedish athlete|the Danish footballer|Christian Olsen}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name           = Christian Olsson
| image          = Christian Olsson 2010 European Team Championships.jpg
| imagesize      = 170px
| caption        = Christian Olsson during the European Team Championships in Budapest, Hungary in June 2010
| fullname       = John Christian Bert Olsson
| birth_date     = {{birth date and age|1980|1|25|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Gothenburg]], Sweden
| death_date     =
| death_place    = 
| height         = {{height|m=1.92}}
| weight         = {{convert|73|kg|0|abbr=on}}
| country        = [[Sweden]]
| event          = Triple jump, High jump
| club           = Örgryte IS
| pb             = 17.79 m<br>17.83 m (indoors)
| medaltemplates = {{MedalCount
|[[Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]|1|0|0
|[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]|1|1|0
|[[IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics|World Indoor Championships]]|2|0|0
|[[European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]|2|0|0
|[[European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]|1|0|0
|'''Total'''|'''7'''|'''1'''|'''0'''
}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
[[File:Olympic rings.svg|center|80px]]
{{MedalGold| [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Athens]]|[[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's triple jump|Triple jump]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2003 World Championships in Athletics|2003 Paris]]|[[2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's triple jump|Triple jump]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics|2001 Edmonton]]|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics – Men's triple jump|Triple jump]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|World Indoor Championships}}
{{MedalGold|[[2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships|2003 Birmingham]]|[[2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump|Triple jump]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships|2004 Budapest]]|[[2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump|Triple jump]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2002 European Championships in Athletics|2002 Munich]]|[[2002 European Athletics Championships – Men's triple jump|Triple jump]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2006 European Athletics Championships|2006 Gothenburg]]|[[2006 European Athletics Championships – Men's triple jump|Triple jump]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[European Indoor Championships in Athletics|European Indoor Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2002 European Indoor Championships in Athletics|2002 Vienna]]|[[2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump|Triple jump]]}} 
}}

'''Christian Olsson''' (born 25 January 1980) is a former [[Swedish people|Swedish]] [[Athletics (sport)|athlete]] competing in [[high jump]] and [[triple jump]]. He won an Olympic gold medal,<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference}}</ref> one gold and one silver medal in the World Championships and two gold medals in the European Championships as well as a further two golds in the World Indoor championships. He also won the overall [[IAAF Golden League]] jackpot in 2004 where he cashed in 500,000 US dollars (after splitting the million dollar pot with [[Tonique Williams-Darling]]).

From 2007 to his retirement in 2012, he was beset by injuries which left him largely on the sidelines and unable to compete at top level competitions.<ref>Turner, Chris (16 January 2010). [https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-tour/news/robles-vs-oliver-olsson-returns-after-three-y Robles vs Oliver; Olsson returns after three years to Stockholm]. [[International Association of Athletics Federations|IAAF]]. Retrieved 9 October 2019.</ref>

==Biography==
Olsson was born in [[Gothenburg]], and made his international breakthrough in 2001 when he won silver at the [[2001 World Championships in Athletics]]. He has the Swedish national record outdoors, 17.79 m ([[2004 Summer Olympics]]), and the Swedish national record indoors, 17.83 m (2004). Olsson has won the Swedish Championships seven times, and has also competed successfully on national level in [[high jump]]ing.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

On 7 March 2004, at the [[2004 World Indoor Championships in Athletics]], he jumped 17.83 m and matched the [[World Record]]. On 23 August 2004, at the [[2004 Summer Olympics]], he jumped 17.79 m, broke the national record and won the gold medal as the first Swede since [[Gustaf Lindblom (athlete)|Gustaf Lindblom]] in [[1912 Summer Olympics|1912]], 92 years earlier. Four of his six jumps were longer than the silver medalist's best jump.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

With the Olympic Gold he completed a rare international sweep, having the Olympic, World Indoor, Outdoor, Regional (European) Indoor and Outdoor titles.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Olsson first became interested in triple jump after watching [[Jonathan Edwards (triple jumper)|Jonathan Edwards]] set the world record at the [[1995 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]] in his hometown Gothenburg. Since 1999, Olsson has been trained by [[Yannick Tregaro]]. Before that, Olsson was trained by [[Viljo Nousiainen]].{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

During the autumn and winter 2004/2005 he injured his foot (an injury originating from the 2004 Olympic Final), preventing him from being able to do triple-jumping at full speed. Unfortunately the injury healed very slowly, and it was still in January 2006 hampering him. In his first competition after the injury, in June 2006, he jumped 17.09 and seem to be back into shape.<ref>[https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/christian-olsson-is-back Christian Olsson is back!] IAAF, 13 June 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2019.</ref>
A month later he won the gold medal at [[2006 European Championships in Athletics|European Championships]] in his hometown Gothenburg, with a jump of 17.67 m.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

At the beginning of the 2007 indoor season, Olsson was injured yet again, and was unable to compete at the [[2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships|European indoor championships]].<ref>[https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/robles-flies-as-vlasic-holm-and-thornblad-soa Knee injury in training causes Olsson’s withdrawal] IAAF. 1 February 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2019.</ref><ref>[https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/holm-takes-swedish-title-as-two-clear-238m-on Holm takes Swedish title, as two clear 2.38m on first attempts, and then try 2.40m!] IAAF. 25 February 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2019.</ref>

Olsson returned to competition in June at the [[IAAF Golden League]] event in Oslo, jumping 17.33 m. In July, he won Golden League event in Paris with 17.56 m.<ref>[https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/four-continue-to-reign-in-paris-iaaf-golden Four continue to reign in Paris - IAAF Golden League] IAAF. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2019.</ref> At the Golden League event in [[Rome]], he retired after the second round due to a [[cramp]].<ref>[https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/perry-and-powell-pre-eminent-in-rome-iaaf-g Perry and Powell pre-eminent in Rome – IAAF Golden League] IAAF. 13 July 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2019.</ref>

Olsson went to the [[2007 World Championships in Athletics]] but had to pull out before the competition due to an injury during training.<ref>[http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=40331.html#news+flash+christian+olsson+injured+no+world+championships Christian Olsson injured – No World Championships] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824073053/http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=40331.html#news+flash+christian+olsson+injured+no+world+championships|date=24 August 2007}} ''IAAF'', 21 August 2007</ref>

After almost one year of [[Physical therapy|rehabilitation]], he returned to competition in July 2008 at the annual event in [[Stockholm]], "DN Galan", but had to pull out due to injury. Afterwards, he announced that he would not compete anymore during the 2008 season; hence he would not participate in the [[2008 Summer Olympics|Beijing Olympics]]. He also suggested that he might retire from the sport.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120214031927/http://iaaf.org/GP08/news/kind=100/newsid=46272.html Powell dips to beat Bolt; Defar just short of 5000m World record - IAAF World Athletics Tour, Stockholm] IAAF. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2019.</ref><ref>[http://www.european-athletics.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6574&Itemid=2 "The Olympics are gone, the whole season is gone"]{{dead link|date=November 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} ''European Athletics'', 23 July 2008.</ref> Upon a request from the Swedish Olympic team, Olsson agreed to carry the Swedish flag during the opening ceremony.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In July 2009, Olsson made a comeback in a minor event arranged by Örgryte IS in [[Gothenburg]]. He then jumped 17.24 m.<ref>{{cite news|author=Anders Lindblad|url=https://www.svd.se/sensationell-comeback-av-christian-olsson|title=Sensationell comeback av Christian Olsson|newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |trans-title=Sensational comeback of Christian Olsson|language=sv|date=24 July 2009|access-date=9 October 2019}}</ref>

On 3 August 2009 Olsson competed in Swedish Championships in Malmö. He won the competition with a jump at 16.72 m. This was the first competition Olsson failed to reach 17 m or more since he jumped in a competition in Birmingham in 2003.<ref>Svenska Dagbladet paper issue 4 August 2009.</ref>

On 14 May 2012, Olsson ultimately declared his intentions to retire from professional triple jump competitions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/friidrott/article14823606.ab|author=PeO Larsson|author2=Jim Jaber|title=Olsson slutar|trans-title=Olsson quits|work=[[Aftonbladet]]|language=sv|date=14 May 2012|access-date=9 October 2019}}</ref>

Christian Olsson lives with his family in [[Lindome]], south of [[Gothenburg]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Interview with Christian Olsson|date=23 January 2020 |url=https://www.gp.se/livsstil/christian-olsson-om-den-tuffa-omst%C3%A4llningen-efter-karri%C3%A4ren-1.22678654|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123110810/https://www.gp.se/livsstil/christian-olsson-om-den-tuffa-omst%C3%A4llningen-efter-karri%C3%A4ren-1.22678654 |archive-date=2020-01-23 }}</ref>

==Competition record==
{| {{AchievementTable|Event=yes}}
|-
!colspan="6"|Representing {{SWE}}
|-
|rowspan=2|1999
|rowspan=2|[[1999 European Athletics Junior Championships|European Junior Championships]]
|rowspan=2|[[Riga, Latvia]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|High jump
|2.21 m
|-
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|Triple jump
|16.18 m
|-
|rowspan=2|2000
|[[2000 European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]
|[[Ghent]], [[Belgium]]
|22nd (q)
|Triple jump
|[[2000 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump|15.95 m]]
|-
|[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Sydney]], [[Australia]]
|17th (q)
|Triple jump
|[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's triple jump|16.64 m]]
|-
|rowspan=3|2001
|[[2001 European Athletics U23 Championships|European U23 Championships]]
|[[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|Triple jump
|[[2001 European Athletics U23 Championships – Men's triple jump|17.24 m]] <small>(wind:&nbsp;-0.8&nbsp;m/s)</small>
|-
|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Edmonton]], [[Canada]]
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|Triple jump
|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics – Men's triple jump|17.47 m]]
|-
|[[Athletics at the 2001 Goodwill Games|Goodwill Games]]
|[[Brisbane]], [[Australia]]
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|Triple jump
|[[Athletics at the 2001 Goodwill Games – Results#Triple jump|16.85 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|2002
|[[2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]
|[[Vienna]], [[Austria]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|Triple jump
|[[2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump|17.54 m]]
|-
|[[2002 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|[[Munich]], [[Germany]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|Triple jump
|[[2002 European Athletics Championships – Men's triple jump|17.53 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|2003
|[[2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships|World Indoor Championships]]
|[[Birmingham]], [[United Kingdom]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|Triple jump
|[[2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump|17.70 m]]
|-
|[[2003 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Paris]], [[France]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|Triple jump
|[[2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's triple jump|17.72 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|2004
|[[2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships|World Indoor Championships]]
|[[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|Triple jump
|[[2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump|17.83 m]]
|-
|[[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Athens]], [[Greece]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|Triple jump
|[[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's triple jump|17.79 m]]
|-
|2006
|[[2006 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|[[Gothenburg]], [[Sweden]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|Triple jump
|[[2006 European Athletics Championships – Men's triple jump|17.67 m]]
|-
|2010
|[[2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships|World Indoor Championships]]
|[[Doha]], [[Qatar]]
|4th
|Triple jump
|[[2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump|17.23 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|2011
|[[2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]
|[[Paris]], [[France]]
|5th
|Triple jump
|[[2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Men's triple jump|17.20 m]]
|-
|[[2011 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Daegu]], [[South Korea]]
|6th
|Triple jump
|[[2011 World Championships in Athletics – Men's triple jump|17.23 m]]
|}

==Other victories==

===Triple jump===
*2001: [[Helsinki]] (Grand Prix) - 17.08 m; [[Vaasa]] (European Cup first league) - 17.00 m; [[Rethymno]] (athletics meet) - 17.49 m
*2002: [[Athens]] (Grand Prix) - 17.40 m; [[Seville]] (European Cup first league) - 17.63 m; [[Monaco]] ([[IAAF Golden League]]) - 17.63 m; Berlin (Golden League) - 17.40 m; Paris (Grand Prix Final) - 17.48 m
*2003: [[Lappeenranta]] (European Cup first league) - 17.38 m; Rethymno (athletics meet) - 17.55 m; [[Gateshead]] (Grand Prix) - 17.92(w) m; [[Stockholm]] (Grand Prix) - 17.36 m; Monaco ([[1st IAAF World Athletics Final|World Athletics Final]]) - 17.55 m
*2004: [[Turin]] (Grand Prix) - 17.61 m; [[Bergen]] (Golden League) - 17.58 m; [[Bydgoszcz]] (European Cup super league) - 17.30 m; Gateshead (Grand Prix) - 17.43 m; Rome (Golden League) - 17.50 m; Paris [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]] (Golden League) - 17.41 m; [[Zürich]] (Golden League) - 17.46 m; [[Brussels]] (Golden League) - 17.44 m; Berlin (Golden League) - 17.45 m; Monaco ([[2nd IAAF World Athletics Final|World Athletics Final]]) - 17.66 m
*2006: [[Prague]] (European Cup super league) - 17.40 m; [[Lausanne]] (Grand Prix) - 17.62 m; London (Grand Prix) - 17.42 m; Zürich (Golden League-meet) - 17.39 m
*2007: Vaasa (European Cup first league) - 17.33 m; Paris Saint-Denis (Golden League) - 17.56 m; Rome (Golden League) - 17.19 m

==International awards==
*[[Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year Trophy]] 2004
*Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year Trophy 2003

==Personal bests==
*[[Triple jump]]
**Indoor - 17.83 metres
**Outdoor - 17.79 metres
*[[High jump]] - 2.28 metres
*[[Long jump]] - 7.71 metres

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Christian Olsson}}
* {{World Athletics|14227931}}
* {{European Athletics|14227931|old_id= o/athlete=144681-olsson-christian}}
* {{Olympics.com|org_archive=20200728192719}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/athletics/3582332.stm BBC Sports Article - (2004 Summer Olympics)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/world_athletics_2003/3180531.stm BBC Sports Article - (2003 World Championships in Athletics)]

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box|before={{flagicon|RUS}} [[Leonid Voloshin]]|title=[[List of European records in athletics|Men's Triple Jump Indoor European Record Holder]]|years=5 March 2002 – 14 March 2010|after={{flagicon|FRA}} [[Teddy Tamgho]]}}
{{s-ach|aw}}
{{succession box|title=[[European Athlete of the Year Award|Men's European Athlete of the Year]]|before={{flagicon|GBR}} [[Dwain Chambers]]|after={{flagicon|LTU}} [[Virgilijus Alekna]]|years=[[2003 in sports|2003]], [[2004 in sports|2004]]}}
{{s-sports|oly}}
{{succession box|before=[[Lars Frölander]]|title=[[Standard-bearer|Flagbearer]] for {{SWE}}|years=[[2008 Summer Olympics|Beijing 2008]]|after=[[Rolf-Göran Bengtsson]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions Triple Jump Men}}
{{Footer World Champions Triple Jump Men}}
{{Footer World Indoor Champions Triple Jump Men}}
{{Footer European Champions Triple Jump Men}}
{{Footer European Champions Indoor Triple Jump Men}}
{{Footer U23 European Champions Triple Jump Men}}
{{European Athlete of the Year (men)}}
{{Footer WBYP Triple Men}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsson, Christian}}
[[Category:1980 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Athletes from Gothenburg]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Sweden]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Sweden]]
[[Category:Swedish men triple jumpers]]
[[Category:Swedish men high jumpers]]
[[Category:Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Monaco]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:European Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Örgryte IS Friidrott athletes]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Goodwill Games medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:IAAF Golden League winners]]
[[Category:European Athlete of the Year winners]]
[[Category:World Athletics Indoor Championships winners]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships winners]]
[[Category:Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games]]
[[Category:Diamond League winners]]
[[Category:21st-century Swedish sportsmen]]