SWEDISH athlete Jesper Hellstrom did his best salmon impression during Wednesday's triple jump final at the European Championships in Germany.<br /><br />The 27-year-old may not have claimed a medal, but he proved to be one of the major talking points at the Olympiastadion.<br /><br />When triple jump doesn't go to plan... pic.twitter.com/AopTPzZphR<br /><br />— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 18, 2022<br /><br />A surprise finalist, Hellstrom narrowly qualified having taken the final spot with a jump 16.07 metres.<br /><br />He started off with a cautious first jump of 16:02, before he got his second attempt all wrong in comedic fashion.<br /><br />Having over-rotated, Hellstrom lost his balance and ended up diving head first into the sand.<br /><br />Showing off his best salmon and seal dive impression, the Swede could be seen laughing during his jump as he left the crowd in stitches.<br /><br />A third jump saw him reach 16.23 metres, but it wasn't enough to make the cut as he finished the final in tenth spot.<br /><br />Speaking after the final of his hilarious second jump, Hellstrom joked: "I thought quite immediately afterwards, 'I wonder if there will be any funny pictures from this.'"<br /><br />It wasn't just Hellstrom that found the funny side, as BBC viewers were loving it as they took to social media to comment on his jump.<br /><br />One user tweeted: "Jesper Hellstrom is my new favorite athlete at these games."<br /><br />Another said: "Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it's Sweden's Jesper Hellstrom in the triple jump. Brilliant."<br /><br />A third added: "Full marks to Jesper Hellstrom for doing the salmon in the triple jump final."<br /><br />This person then remarked: "This made me laugh out loud when watching it live on TV."<br /><br />Meanwhile another messaged: "Brilliant! You’ve made my day Jesper Hellstrom."<br /><br />One then simply stated: "My new favorite athlete."<br /><br />This viewer posted: "Not his longest jump no doubt, but certainly his most memorable!"
