BEIJING // Francoise Mbango Etone of Cameroon has successfully defended her Olympic triple jump title, setting a competition record of 15.39 metres in the process. Mbango, Cameroon's first individual Olympic gold medallist when she won in Athens in 2004 after two silvers at the World Championships, set the mark on her second jump in today's final. She came back this season after spending most of 2006 and 2007 off the circuit for a combination of reasons, including injuries, studies and becoming a mother. The two-time world champion Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia, the silver medallist in Sydney and bronze medallist in Athens, was second with a leap of 15.32. Hrysopiyi Devetzi of Greece, who got silver in 2004, collected bronze.
*AP
