Carolina Klüft (b. 1983)
Birthplace:
Sandhult, Sweden
Born:
February 2, 1983
Carolina Evelyn Klüft (born 2 February 1983) is a retired Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the heptathlon, triple jump, long jump, and pentathlon. She was an Olympic Champion, having won the heptathlon title in 2004. She was also a three-time World and two-time European heptathlon champion. She is the only athlete ever to win three consecutive world titles in the heptathlon (2003, 2005, 2007), and was unbeaten in 22 heptathlon and pentathlon competitions from 2002 to 2007, winning nine consecutive gold medals in major championships. Klüft first rose to prominence by winning the heptathlon at the 2002 European Championships and setting a new world junior record of 6,542 points. She then won the 2003 World Championships, becoming the third athlete ever to score over 7,000 points. She is the European record holder for heptathlon with a personal best of 7,032 points. This score ranks her second on the all-time heptathlon points score list, behind Jackie Joyner-Kersee who set the world record of 7,291 points. Besides having been a world class heptathlete, Klüft also had international success in the long jump event. She won the bronze medal at the 2004 World Indoor Championships in Budapest and finished fourth at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. On 2 September 2012 at the Finland-Sweden Athletics International, Klüft officially ended her career and retired from sports.