Saladino carries hopes of Panama's first gold
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Reared in the rough-and-ready city of Colon at the mouth of the Panama Canal, Irving Saladino has become a hero in his homeland where he is nicknamed 'the Panamanian kangaroo'.
The 25-year-old is favorite for the long jump gold in Beijing next month after achieving the best jump in 14 years in May in the Netherlands -- 8.73 meters.
He would be Panama's first gold medalist and its first Olympic medalist since Lloyd LaBeach won bronze in the 100 and 200 meters in 1948.
The 2004 Olympics came too soon for Saladino who failed to progress beyond the qualifying round. The gold in Athens was won by American Dwight Phillips with a jump of 8.59.
Saladino claimed his first major victory two years later at the Ibero-American championships in Puerto Rico.
He added to his medal collection in 2007 with wins at the IAAF finals in Stuttgart and the World Cup in Athens.
His biggest victory to date came at the world championships in Osaka in 2007 when he jumped a then personal best of 8.57 meters.
He has suffered a niggling injury to his left knee which forced him to sit out some of this season's meets.
After a period of recovery in Sao Paulo - where he lives and is trained by coach Neilo Moura - he returned on July 11, winning an event in Rome and jumping 8.30 meters against a moderate headwind.
(Editing by Robert Woodward)
