[1] Coming into the competition, reigning world champion Tatyana Lebedeva was a favorite, having jumped 15.34m and 15.33m.

World record holder Inessa Kravets from nine years earlier, was no longer a factor, but Yamilé Aldama was also jumping well with a 15.28 just three weeks before the Olympics.

That was a Beamonesque improvement of her personal best and placed her as the number three jumper in history at that point in time, just 2 cm short of Lebedeva.

In the fourth round Devetzi improved her position again to 15.25m with Aldama moving into third place with her best of the day 14.99m.

In qualification, each athlete jumped three times (stopping early if they made the qualifying distance).