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Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil competes during the women's long jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Maurren Higa Maggi won the title with 7.04 metres.[Xinhua/Liao Yujie]
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Maggi's role, in fact, is far beyond a long jumper. She is also the South American record holder at 100 meters hurdles and at long jump, with 12.71 seconds and 7.26 meters respectively. She also has 14.53 meters in the triple jump.
In 2003, Maurren got tangled in a doping scandal after clostebol was found on her organism, an anti-scarring gel sheet that she used contained the anabolic steroid in its composition. Maurren was suspended for two years, leaving her out of the 2003 Pan American Games, and she gave up the 2004 Olympic Games due to a pregnancy.
"You know what, doping happens. It was a bad accident for me, since I was only able to compete for two years. I knew I still have things to do. I want to come back and compete in track and field. This is my last chance. I reach the gold gradually. At the very beginning it was difficult and I was scared. However, things gradually changed. Today I come back with gold. It's unbelievable," she told a news conference held after the match.
For Lebedeva, the Athens champion and winner of the three of the last four world championships, a silver is far from satisfaction after she tried her luck and failed in the critical last jump.
But later, the elite jumper peacefully accepted her fifth Olympic medal, a silver as she put it: "Life will continue."
"Of course I didn't want to be in this place. But sport is beautiful. Sport is fighting. Here in the Olympics, it's not the strongest who wins. It's coincidence of luck. Maggi got all the luck, all the strengths today. I was fighting. I was struggling until the very end."
Athens 2004 heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden, who had decided to concentrate on the long and triple Jumps in Beijing 2008, finished ninth with 6.49 meters. "Today I didn't jump too good. I didn't take my speed with me to the board," she admitted.
"We'll see. Hopefully, I can do both the heptathlon and the long jump," she said.
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Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil competes during the women's long jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Maurren Higa Maggi won the title with 7.04 metres.[Xinhua/Jiao Weiping]
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