Athletics at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games:

The top heptathlete in the past few years had been Sweden’s Carolina Klüft. She was the defending champion and World Champion in 2005 and 2007, but announced in early 2008 she would no longer compete in the heptathlon and compete only in the long and triple jumps. Without her, the event was wide-open, although Britain’s Kelly Sotherton had some support, as did Russian Tatyana Chernova. But in the end the gold went to an athlete given minimal consideration, Nataliya Dobrynska of the Ukraine. Dobrynska came in with a PR of only 6,268 from 2004, but she PRed in five of the seven events and bettered her overall PR by 365 points to win. Behind her was American Hyleas Fountain , who led after the hurdles, the high jump, and at the end of the first day. Dobrynska passed her to take the lead in the long jump, the first event of day two, and Fountain knew she would have to work to medal, as the javelin and 800 were not good events for her. In the 800 she ran a 2:15.45 to hang to what appeared to be a bronze medal, having been passed by Dobrynska’s countrywoman, Lyudmila Blonska, who ran 2:09.44 in the 800 to move up. But Blonska then tested positive for testosterone and was disqualified. She had already served a steroid ban in 2003-2004, so this second doping positive earned her a lifetime ban from the sport. Chernova moved up to the bronze medal after Blonska’s disqualification, with Sotherton fourth.