Hellebaut upsets Vlasic to take gold in Women's High Jump

(BEIJING, August 23) -- By clearing 2.05m on her first attempt, Tia Hellebaut of Belgium took Olympic gold, her country's first in these Games, in the Women's High Jump on Saturday night in Beijing's National Stadium.

With this national record-setting achievement, Hellebaut successfully broke the 38-competition winning streak (since June 2007) enjoyed by Croatian jumper Blanka Vlasic.

Vlasic, reigning IAAF world indoor and outdoor champ, was expected to win the High Jump, as she currently leads the world's best jumpers with eight of the highest marks of the season. Several times, she has attempted to best Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova's twenty-one-year-old world record of 2.09m, but has not succeeded so far.

In Beijing on Saturday night, she missed the gold, too. Even though Vlasic also cleared 2.05m, it took her two attempts, one more than her Belgian rival. As they both missed 2.07m, Vlasic goes home with the silver.

Russia's Anna Chicherova took the bronze medal by clearing her personal best height of 2.03m. The Russian, currently the national champion in the event, was second at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

Athens 2004 gold medalist Elene Slesarenko, also of Russia, only got over 2.01m in Beijing, landing her in fourth place. Although she didn't make it onto the medal podium, she can take comfort in knowing that her Olympic record of 2.06m still stands intact.