Beijing - European champion Tia Hellebaud of Belgium stunned favoured Croatian world champion Blanca Vlasic on the cruel countback rule to win Olympic high jump gold on Saturday.
Hellebaud soared 2.05 metres in her first and Vlasic only in the second attempt before Vlasic failed to clear 2.07m which allowed Hellabuad to waive her final attempt over the height.
Vlasic had cleared all other heights on her first attempt, while Hellebaud needed two attempts over 1.99m, 2.01m and 2.03m. But the countback rule only counts the height before an athlete fails.
Olga Chicherova grabbed bronze in a classy event while the 2004 gold medallist Elena Sleesarenko came up empty-handed despite soaring 2.01m.
It was only the second time in event history that this height was not good enough for a medal, with Vlasic the odd one out at the 2006 European championships. And Vlasic was also the victim as for the first time ever 2.05m did not mean gold at a big event. (dpa)
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