Kajsa Bergqvist

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Medal record
Kajsa Bergqvist
Kajsa Bergqvist
Women's Athletics
Competitor for Flag of Sweden Sweden
Olympic Games
Bronze 2000 Sydney High jump
World Championships
Gold 2005 Helsinki High jump
Bronze 2001 Edmonton High jump
Bronze 2003 Paris High jump
European Championships
Gold 2002 Munich High jump
Bronze 2006 Gothenburg High jump

Kajsa Margareta Bergqvist (Swedish, pronounced [ˈkajːsa ˈbærːjˌkvɪst]) (born October 12, 1976, in Sollentuna, Sweden) is a retired Swedish high jumper. She has 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 at 2.08 m, set in Germany in 2006, is also the world indoor record.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Kajsa grew up in Sollentuna, north of Stockholm, with her mother Elsa, father Gunnar and big brother Anders. Her interest in sport began when she was six 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 ten 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.

Kajsa 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 Kajsa chose to concentrate on the event that was her best, high jump.

She attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX from 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.

In 2001 she moved from Sweden to Monaco.

By 2004, lack of progress and long travel distances caused Kajsa 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 July 18, 2004, Kajsa 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 Chaunte 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, settling for a bronze medal.

In Arnstadt Germany, 4th of February 2006, Kajsa set her first world record. A first attempt indoor leap of 2.08 m to surpass Heike Henkel's 2.07 m leap on 8th of February 1992. The record wasn't totally unexpected since she jumped 2.00 m already in the warm up for the competition.

Kajsa 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.

Kajsa married director Måns Herngren on New Year's Eve in 2007 and shortly afterwards, on January 7, 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.

[edit] International medals

[edit] High jump

[edit] Other victories

[edit] High jump

[edit] Personal bests

Kajsa Bergqvist's 2.06 m jump in Eberstadt 2003
Kajsa Bergqvist's 2.06 m jump in Eberstadt 2003

[edit] Trivia

  • When competing at the 2005 World Championships, Kajsa wore spikes bearing her name; 'Kajsa'. They were later auctioned by the IAAF.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Flag of Sweden Stefan Holm		 Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
2005		 Succeeded by
Flag of Sweden Anja Pärson
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Flag of Bulgaria Venelina Veneva		 Women's High Jump Best Year Performance
2002 – 2003		 Succeeded by
Flag of Russia Yelena Slesarenko
Preceded by
Flag of Russia Yelena Slesarenko		 Women's High Jump Best Year Performance
2005 – 2006		 Succeeded by
Flag of Croatia Blanka Vlašić
Preceded by
Flag of Sweden Emelie Färdigh		 Swedish National High Jump Champion
1997 — 2003		 Succeeded by
Flag of Sweden Carolina Klüft
Preceded by
Flag of Sweden Emma Green		 Swedish National High Jump Champion
2006 — 2007		 Succeeded by
Flag of Sweden Incumbent