Kajsa Bergqvist

Kajsa Bergqvist

Bergqvist at the Stuttgart meeting in 2006
Personal information
Born (1976-10-12) 12 October 1976
Sollentuna Municipality, Stockholm County
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 59 kg (130 lb; 9 st 4 lb)
Sport
Sport Track and field
Event(s) High jump
Retired 2007
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)

High jump (outdoor): 2.06 m
High jump (indoor): 2.08 m (world record)

Heptathlon: 4952 points[1]
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Sweden
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 0 0
World Championships 1 0 2
World Indoor Championships 2 0 0
European Championships 1 0 1
European Indoor Championships 1 1 0
Continental Cup 0 0 0
Total 6 1 3
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney High jump
World Championships
2005 Helsinki High jump
2001 Edmonton High jump
2003 Paris High jump
European Championships
2002 Munich High jump
2006 Gothenburg High jump
World Indoor Championships
2001 Lisbon High jump
2003 Birmingham High jump
European Indoor Championships
2000 Ghent High jump
2002 Vienna High jump
World Athletics Final
2005 Monte Carlo High jump
2006 Stuttgart High jump
2003 Monte Carlo High jump
Updated on 18 August 2013.

Kajsa Margareta Bergqvist (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkajːsa ˈbærːjˌkvɪst]; born 12 October 1976 in Sollentuna, Stockholm) is a Swedish former high jumper. She won one bronze medal in the Olympic Games, one gold and two bronze medals in the World Championships in Athletics and one gold and one bronze in the European Championships. Her personal outdoor record of 2.06 m, set in Germany in 2003, is also a Swedish record. Her indoor record of 2.08 m, set at the Hochsprung mit Musik meeting in 2006, is the world indoor record.

Biography

Career

Bergqvist was born up in Sollentuna Municipality in Stockholm County. Her interest in sport began when she was 6 years old and tried sports such as football, volleyball, badminton, swimming and cross-country skiing, none of which was able to keep her interest.

When she was 10 years old, she was persuaded by her big brother, Anders, to compete in Rösjöloppet, a long-distance track event. After that event, she began to try out several athletic events.

Bergqvist continued to train in several athletic events until she was 15 years old, when a new coach, Bengt Jönsson, came to her club, Turebergs FK. Soon after his arrival, he and Bergqvist chose to concentrate on the event that was her best, high jump.

She attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas (USA) in 1995–1999, with a degree in Advertising. She was the NCAA champion in 1997 with a clearance of 1.93 in the rain at the Indiana University over Amy Acuff of UCLA ending her streak at two. She won the NCAA meet again in 1999 with a height of 1.90 in Boise. In the season 1999, she tied Acuff's collegiate outdoor record of 1.95 (6-6). That record is sometimes omitted as it was set in international competition after the NCAA meet.

During 2001–2008 she lived in Monaco.

By 2004, lack of progress and long travel distances caused Bergqvist to end the relationship with her coach, Bengt Jönsson. She joined a group of athletes (including Olympic gold medalist Christian Olsson) under Yannick Tregaro.

At a competition in Båstad, on 18 July 2004, Bergqvist tore her Achilles tendon. Due to the injury, she missed the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, but managed to return to form just in time for the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki. There she made an impressive series of jumps to edge out Chaunté Howard for the gold medal. Her Helsinki victory earned the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal for that year.

In 2006 she had been ranked the number one female high jumper in the world but failed to win in that summer's European Championships in front of her home fans in Gothenburg, having to settle for a bronze medal.

At the Hochsprung mit Musik meeting in Arnstadt, Germany, on 4 February 2006, Bergqvist set her first world record: she made an indoor leap of 2.08 on her first attempt, surpassing Heike Henkel's 2.07 m leap on 8 February 1992. The record was not totally unexpected since she jumped 2.00 m already in the warm up for the competition.

Bergqvist chose not to compete in the 2007 European Indoor Athletics Championships, opting, instead, to concentrate on defending her world outdoor crown. She had not started the indoor season well, and was nowhere near the form which had seen her set the world record the year before. It did not pay off as she finished 7th in Osaka.

Bergqvist married director Måns Herngren on New Year's Eve in 2007 and shortly afterwards, on 7 January 2008, announced that she would retire from high jumping. She had found her life entering "a new phase" and that she no longer felt as motivated to keep competing, even after her break in 2007.

Post-athletics

Since her retirement, she has been an ambassador for both UNICEF and the IAAF.[2][3]

Personal life

Bergqvist married director Måns Herngren on New Year's Eve in 2007. The couple announced their divorce in early 2011.[4]

In December 2011, Bergqvist confirmed in an interview that she is in a relationship with a woman, and stated: "As lesbian as I feel today, as heterosexual I felt when I was together with Måns. But when I get old and look back on my life, perhaps one can think that I'm bisexual." This announcement came after a period of rumours concerning Bergqvist's personal life.[5]

International medals

High jump

Other victories

High jump

Kajsa Bergqvist's 2.06 m jump in Eberstadt 2003

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kajsa Bergqvist's IAAF profile
  2. ↑ Arcoleo, Laura (7 July 2007). World Youth Press Conference – Athletes' quotes. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-09-11.
  3. ↑ Turner, Chris (24 October 2005). Bergqvist is appointed as UNICEF Ambassador. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-09-11.
  4. ↑ Ågren, Joel (13 February 2011). "Så går Kajsa vidare". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  5. ↑ Roström-Andersson, Sofia (20 December 2011). "Kajsa Bergqvist kommer ut". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2011-12-21.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kajsa Bergqvist.
Records
Preceded by
West Germany Heike Henkel		 Women's High Jump Indoor World Record Holder
February 4, 2006 – present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by
Sweden Stefan Holm		 Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
2005 		Succeeded by
Sweden Anja Pärson
Achievements
Preceded by
Bulgaria Venelina Veneva		 Women's High Jump Best Year Performance
2002–2003 		Succeeded by
Russia Yelena Slesarenko
Preceded by
Russia Yelena Slesarenko		 Women's High Jump Best Year Performance
2005–2006 		Succeeded by
Croatia Blanka Vlašić
Preceded by
Sweden Emelie Färdigh		 Swedish National High Jump Champion
1997–2003 		Succeeded by
Sweden Carolina Klüft
Preceded by
Sweden Emma Green		 Swedish National High Jump Champion
2006 		Succeeded by
Sweden Emma Green
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