Stockholm - Sweden's Stefan Holm, one of the country's most dominant athletes in recent years, failed Tuesday to defend his Olympic high jump title. Holm, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Games, came fourth in the final, earning online headlines like "Dream of gold over", and "The End?" suggesting Holm would make good on his earlier statements that he would quit after the Olympics.
His fate seemed typical for a Swedish Olympic team that in Athens collected a handsome number of gold medals but in Beijing has been denied the same fortune.
Another athletic medal hopeful who was disappointed at Beijing was 100m hurdler Susanna Kallur, who crashed out in the semi-finals on Monday.
A thigh injury forced Christian Olsson, who won the triple-jump at Athens, to bow out before the Beijing Games.
Olsson, 28, was selected to carry the Swedish flag at the opening ceremony in Beijing in what the Swedish Olympic Committee said was a fitting tribute to a stellar athelete.
Even the presence of Swedish King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Prince Carl Philip failed to bring Holm luck.
Stockholm tabloid Expressen noted that the royals so far have not brought much luck with them at other events where they watched Swedish hopefuls.
In handball, Norway's women beat Sweden in the quarter-finals, while Thomas Johansson and Simon Aspelin lost out to the Swiss pair Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka in the men's doubles tennis final.
Rower Lassi Karonen finished last in the final - at an event attended by the king, Expressen said.
"This is not the king's Olympic Games", the paper said.
