Blanka Vlašić

**Blanka Vlašić** (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈblaːŋka ˈʋlaʃitɕ]; born 8 November 1983) be a Croatian former track den field athlete wey specialise insyd de high jump. She be a double world champion, an indoor world champion den twice Olympic medallist. Vlašić ein personal best of 2.08 m (6 ft 9+3⁄4 in) be a Croatian record den joint third best mark of all time.

De daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, na she be a talented junior athlete wey na she attend ein first Olympic Games insyd 2000 Sydney at de age of sixteen. She win de World Junior Championships insyd Athletics insyd both 2000 den 2002. Vlašić break de Croatia national record insyd 2004 wey sanso win ein first world senior medal at de World Indoor Championships dat year. Na a hyperthyroid condition hinder ein second Olympic appearance insyd Athens wey na she spend de 2005 season recuperating from surgery.

She return insyd 2006, wey she take de silver at de World Indoor Championships. Na de 2007 season signal a strong run of form: na she win at de 2007 World Championships, wey she cam be de indoor world champion insyd 2008 wey na ein winning streak cam to an end plus a narrow loss at de Beijing Olympics dat year, wer na she take silver. She cam be World Champion for de second time insyd 2009. Ein awards sanso dey include de IAAF World Athlete of de Year 2010 den de European Athlete of de Year trophy (2007, 2010).

## Biography

### Early life
Na dem born Blanka Vlašić on 8 November 1983 insyd Split, SR Croatia (at de time part of Yugoslavia). From a young age, na she be involved insyd sports: na ein mommie Venera be a seasoned amateur insyd basketball den cross-country skiing while na ein poppie, Joško Vlašić, be an international athlete wey break de Croatian record insyd de decathlon. Na ein poppie bring am to de track while na he practise wey na she dream of becoming a professional sprinter. As na she grow up she try a number of sports buh na she find dat na de high jump be particularly well-suit to ein tall den slender frame. Na Vlašić shun de idea of competing insyd more profitable sports, such as basketball, dey say dat na she prefer de thrill of individual sports. Na she reach de international standard for a high jumper at an early age, wey she set a personal best of 1.80&nbsp;metres at fifteen years of age wey na she quickly improve to 1.93&nbsp;m at sixteen.

#### Junior career
Na Vlašić get an early start insyd international competition: na she compete at de inaugural World Youth Championships, wey she fini eighth, wey na she represent ein country for de first time at de 2000 Sydney Olympics. Although na de Olympics show say na she no be ready to compete at de senior level, na she prove einself to be more dan proficient at de junior level by she win de 2000 World Junior Championships plus a jump of 1.91&nbsp;m. Na she be a regular competitor at senior athletics meetings wey na she steadily dey improve, wey she qualify for further top-level senior events. Na Vlašić fini sixth at de 2001 World Championships insyd Edmonton plus a mark of 1.94&nbsp;m, a result wich lead de IAAF ein Ed Gordon to mark am out as a future star insyd de event. Na she round off de year by she win ein first senior gold medal at an international tournament, wey na she take first place at de 2001 Mediterranean Games.

Na de results of Vlašić ein final year as a junior show further development as a high jumper. Na she set a new indoor best of 1.92&nbsp;m at de 2002 European Indoor Championships wey na she be de favourite to win de 2002 World Juniors. Na she win de competition by a margin of nine centimetres, wey she set a new personal best of 1.96&nbsp;m den dey attempt de symbolic two metres height. She fail to pass de bar buh na she remain pleased plus ein achievements: "Na dis be de first time I try de 2-metre mark. Na dat go be a bonus. Today wat dey matter be de gold. I make very happy I retain my world junior title". At de final major event of de season, de European Championships, na she no fi repeat ein previous form wey na she fini insyd fifth place. Nevertheless, at de end of de year na dem rank am insyd de top ten high jumpers insyd de world for de season.

### Rising contender
Na de start to de 2003 athletics season be promising – Vlašić set a new personal best insyd Linz plus a jump of 1.98&nbsp;m wey na she fini fourth at de World Indoor Championships ten days later, ein highest finish insyd a major world tournament. Na June den July yield further progress, wey she san jump 1.98&nbsp;m wey na she improve to 1.99&nbsp;m to win ein first IAAF Golden League event at de Gaz de France. Days later, na she jump de two metres height for de first time on home soil at de IAAF Grand Prix Zagreb. Although na Hestrie Cloete win de competition overall, Vlašić ein defeat of de psychological barrier wey na she improve personal best be de highlight of de meeting wey na Cloete praise de young athlete ein performance. Na Vlašić take gold at de 2003 European Athletics Under-23 Championships, wey then na she improve ein best by anoda centimetre at de Zürich Grand Prix wich qualify am for de World Championships den de first IAAF World Athletics Final. Despite such previous highs, na ein season end on a low note as she fail to win a medal at either de World Championships (wey she fini seventh plus 1.95&nbsp;m) anaa de Athletics Final insyd Paris (wey she end up fourth plus 1.96&nbsp;m). Although na she fail to reach de podium at de major championships, three athletes per manage to jump higher dan ein personal den season ein best of 2.01&nbsp;m insyd 2003.

#### National record den health problems
Vlasic start de season well plus a bronze medal performance at de 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships insyd March. She regularly reach de podium at meetings insyd de outdoor season wey na she win de 2004 national championships. Na a Croatian record breaking jump of 2.03&nbsp;m insyd Ljubljana put am insyd good stead for de 2004 Athens Olympics. However, wen na she compete at de Olympic high jump final she manage eleventh place per plus a jump of 1.89&nbsp;m. Dey follow dis, na Vlašić no compete for almost a year: she admit say na she dey feel lethargic den shortly afterwards na dem diagnose am plus a hyperthyroid condition.

Na surgery den recovery rule out de vast majority of de 2005 athletics season wey na she manage to make two competitive appearances per. Na a best of 1.95&nbsp;m guarantee ein victory at de national championships, buh na ein jump of 1.88&nbsp;m no be enough to progress into de finals of de 2005 World Championships.

Although na ein poor health spoil ein medals chances at de two major championships of 2004 den 2005, na Vlašić cam back she fully recover wey she be stronger insyd de 2006 season. Na she raise ein indoor best to 2.05&nbsp;m (a national record) at a meet insyd Banská Bystrica insyd February, wey na she take silver at de 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Although na dem beat am to de gold medal by Yelena Slesarenko, she remain positive: "Of course na I wan make I win. Buh wen I remember say na I dey insyd hospital one year ago e be great." Na de 2006 European Athletics Championships insyd Gothenburg prove e be a bittersweet experience: she clear 2.01&nbsp;m to finish insyd fourth place, behind Tia Hellebaut, Venelina Veneva den Kajsa Bergqvist. Na dis be de best-ever non-medal winning jump, wey na bronze medallist Bergqvist sanso fini plus 2.01&nbsp;m buh na she manage am insyd fewer attempts. Vlašić cap de season off plus an appearance at de 2006 World Athletics Final buh na she withdraw from de competition after ein third jump, wey she fini sixth.

### 2007: Dominance den Croatia ein first gold medal at World Championships

Although na she record an indoor season's best of 2.01&nbsp;m insyd February, na she fail to repeat ein previous season's indoor form wey na she fini fifth at de 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships (dem later upgrade to fourth after na Venelina Veneva test positive for substances dem ban).

During de 2007 season, na Vlašić win eighteen out of nineteen outdoor competitions, wey ein loss per cam early insyd de season at de first Golden League meeting insyd Oslo, wey Olympic champion Yelena Slesarenko defeat am. Vlašić win de World Championships insyd Osaka thanks to a 2.05 m jump, wey she win Croatia ein first gold medal at de World Athletics Championships. Antonietta Di Martino of Italy den Anna Chicherova of Russia both clear 2.03 m to share de silver medal.

Insyd early October, na dem name Vlašić female European Athlete of de Year by de European Athletic Association after de combined votes of a panel of experts, a group of journalists den de public. She be de first Croatian athlete den de first high jumper to win dis award.

### 2008: Silver medal at de Beijing Olympics

#### World indoor title insyd Valencia
Insyd March 2008, na Vlašić win ein first world indoor title insyd Valencia, Spain (2.03 m) wey na dem post am 10 days earlier an indoor national record of 2.05 m.

Dey came to de 2008 Summer Olympics, dem hold insyd Beijing, China, Vlašić jump 12 times over 2.00 m outdoors, wey dey lead de world rankings plus 2.06 m. Still base on de world rankings, she dey lead by 3 centimeters.

#### Beijing Olympics
At de Olympics, Vlašić clear all of ein heights on ein first attempt, from 1.89 m to 2.03 m. At 2.03 m, Vlašić, Anna Chicherova, den Tia Hellebaut, wey get failures at de previous attempts, wey dey include at 2.03 for Hellebaut, remained insyd competition. Na de bar go to 2.05 m wey na Vlašić fail ein first attempt while na Hellebaut break de Belgian record. Vlašić clear de bar on ein second jump, buh na she loose de gold to Hellebaut on countback after neither clear 2.07m.

Na Vlašić ein season end wen na she san beat on countback insyd de final leg of de ÅF Golden League series, wich end ein chances of winning de $1,000,000 jackpot. Na she win de previous five Golden League events, wey she fini de Memorial Van Damme meeting insyd second place behind Ariane Friedrich.

### 2009: Second consecutive world title, second best high-jumper of all time (2.08 m)

Na de 2009 Indoor season see Vlašić dey post a world indoor lead of 2.05 m insyd Karlsruhe, wey dey equal ein own national indoor record insyd de process. However she fail to earn a medal at de European Indoor Championships insyd Torino, wey she fini fifth. Germany ein Ariane Friedrich win de gold medal.

At de World Championships, na Vlašić compete against Ariane Friedrich. During de final, na de duo be joined by reigning world silver den Olympic bronze medalist Anna Chicherova, wey take de lead plus a 2.02 m first-time clearance. Na Vlašić clear on ein second attempt, while na Friedrich clear on ein third attempt. At 2.04 m, de Croatian be de first one to go over. Na Chicherova fail wey Friedrich attempt 2.06 m, which she almost clears. Na Vlašić then raise de bar to 2.10 m, a would-be world record, buh na she fail all three attempts.

On 31 August, at Hanžeković Memorial insyd Zagreb, na Vlašić clear 2.08 m. Na she set a new personal best, Croatian record wey she cam be de second best high-jumper of all time behind de world record of Stefka Kostadinova (2.09 m insyd 1987). Na she raise de bar to 2.10 m, buh she san fail once.

### 2010: World indoor title den first European title

On 6 February 2010, Vlašić clear 2.06&nbsp;m insyd Arnstadt, Germany. Na de victory at de Hochsprung mit Musik add one centimetre to ein own personal best den Croatian record wey e bring am to third on de all-time indoor lists behind Sweden ein Kajsa Bergqvist (2.08 m in 2006) den Germany ein Heike Henkel (2,07 m in 1992). A month later, na she retain ein world indoor title insyd Doha plus 2.00 m, wey she win ahead of Spain ein Ruth Beitia den USA ein Chaunté Lowe, na both jump 1.98 m. Thru de outdoor season, she win de first edition of de IAAF Diamond League by she win de seven meetings insyd de event. Na she den ein main rival of de season Chaunté Lowe both lead de circuit. Vlašić clear 2.00 m on six out of seven occasions insyd de circuit.

On 1 August 2010 Vlašić win ein first European title plus 2.03 m, wey she equal de championship record set by Belgian ein Tia Hellebaut den Bulgaria ein Venelina Veneva-Mateeva four years earlier at de 2006 edition insyd Gothenburg. She beat Sweden ein Emma Green (silver) den Germany ein Ariane Friedrich (bronze), both jump 2.01 m.

Na dem select Vlašić along plus Emma Green make dem represent Europe at de Continental Cup on ein home soil of Split. She win de event plus 2.05 m wey na she equal Chaunté Lowe ein world leading jump. Na she raise de bar at 2.10 m, wat go be a world record, buh na she fail to break am.

At de end of de year, na dem crown Vlašić European Athlete den IAAF World Athlete of de year, wey she succeed Marta Domínguez (Europe) den Sanya Richards-Ross (World).

#### 2011 season: third world championships medal
Dey cam up to de 2011 World Championships insyd Daegu, na Vlašić no be de favourite at all. Plus 2.00 m, na she no dey lead de world rankings wey na Russian long time rival Anna Chicherova get all de expectations for de win, thanks to a Russian record of 2.07 m. Na Italy ein Antonietta Di Martino sanso dey insyd a good shape coming to de Worlds, na (as Vlašić) jump 2.00 m outdoors buh na she do better indoors plus an Italian record of 2.04 m. Moreover, na Vlašić no guaranteed to show up at de championships secof a left leg injury. However, during de championships, na she show great form wey she manage to clear 2.03 m wey she earn silver medal, wey she cam close to clearing 2.05 den creating history make she cam be de first high jumper to win 3 consecutive world titles. Buh na Anna Chicherova beat de Croatian on countbacks, while na Antonietta Di Martino for settle for de bronze plus 2.00 m.

### 2012-2013: injuries
Na Vlašić decide to have an operation on ein left Achilles tendon insyd January 2012. Although na de operation insyd einself seem e go well, na an infection develop wey na she for do anoda operation insyd April. Na a slow healing process delay ein preparations for de London Olympics wey na she for withdraw. Na Vlašić no compete insyd any oda event of de season, therefore she miss de whole indoor den outdoor season of 2012.

20 months after ein last competition, na Vlašić make ein comeback on May 25 insyd New York, wey na she take de win plus de World Championships standard of 1.94 m. Then, na she jump 1.95 m insyd Rome before she clear 2 meters at de end of June insyd Buhl while na she dey work on gaining stability insyd ein ankle as na she approach de 2013 Moscow World Championships. Unfortunately na she for withdraw secof fear say na she no yet fully recover.

### 2015 World Championships
Insyd March 2014, Vlašić make ein comeback at an international championship since de 2011 World Championships at de World Indoor Championships. She place 6th plus 1.94 m. Secof a jumper's knee injury insyd ein left knee, na she for withdraw from de European championships insyd Zürich wer na she be one of de favorites alongsiyd Russia ein Mariya Kuchina, secof ein two recent wins insyd Paris den London plus 2.00 m.

However, she cam back on de scene a week after de Europeans at de Weltklasse Zürich wey she place fourth plus 1.93 m. She end ein season on a good note, wey she san jump dat height insyd Zagreb.

Insyd 2015, Vlašić open ein outdoor season at de Golden Gala insyd Rome wey she place 2nd to Spain ein Ruth Beitia (2.00 m, world lead) plus 1.97 m. Na then she equal dat height insyd New York City, dem san beat am by de Spaniard on countbacks. However, secof ein chronic foot pain, na she cancel ein appearances insyd both Lausanne den Monaco in order make she get ready for de Beijing World Championships.

Na de World Champs be de Croatian ein first major championship outdoors since Daegu 2011. On 27 August, na she make am to de finals den der, two days later, she earn de silver medal behind Russia ein Mariya Lasitskene (former Kuchina) wey beat am on countbacks (na Vlašić get one miss at 1.92 m). To am, na de silver medal feel like gold after all na she for go thru insyd de previous years, den more specifically wey dey recall she no fi walk for days insyd early July.

### 2016: Olympic bronze

Still secof ein Achilles problem, na Vlašić make one appearance per insyd de 2016 season insyd Split on January 29 wer na she take de win plus 1.95 m, wey she jump over de qualifying standard (1.93 m) for de 2016 Summer Olympics. On 3 February, na dem do am surgery insyd Turku, Finland. Despite she no compete during de outdoor season (na she cancel ein participation at de European Championships den insyd de London Diamond League), na dem select am by de Croatian Federation alongsyd Ana Šimić make dem represent Croatia insyd de high jump at de Olympics.

#### Olympic competition
On 18 August, na Vlašić compete insyd de Women's high jump qualification wey na she reach de finals, wey she place 1st plus de qualifying height for de final, 1.94 m. Two days later, na she compete insyd a final of 17 competitors. She clear 1.88 m den 1.93 m on ein second attempt, before she clear 1.97 m. Na she, Ruth Beitia, Mirela Demireva den Chaunté Lowe be de athletes per to clear de bar. Na she place third behind Beitia den Demireva buh ahead of Lowe, Vlašić attempt 2.00 m buh she fail to clear within three attempts. As na no one else clear, she earn de bronze medal behind Beitia den Demireva. Na dis be de first time since de 1980 Summer Olympics wey de winning height be below 2.00 meters. Na Vlašić cam be de seventh female athlete insyd de history of de discipline (since 1928) to win two Olympic medals. Na Vlasić donate ein medal to de Croatian shrine of St. Mary of Marija Bistrica.

### Career post-Olympic season
On 19 July 2017, na Vlašić announce ein withdrawal from de World Championships insyd London secof foot pain. Na she say dat na she get no plans to retire yet as she plan to cam back for de 2018 season on de road to de 2020 Summer Olympics insyd Tokyo.

On 19 February 2021, she announce ein retirement.

## Statistics

### Personal bests

### International competitions
Dey represent Croatia

## Ein life matter
Na dem name Vlašić after Casablanca, a city wer na ein poppie compete den win a gold medal at de 1983 Mediterranean Games around de time of ein birth.

From de beginning of ein career na she be coached by ein poppie, Joško Vlašić den a former high jumper Bojan Marinović.

Ein bro be Croatian football player Nikola Vlašić.

Blanka today be a member of de 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes wey commit to serving peace insyd de world thru sport, wey Peace and Sport create, a Monaco-based international organisation. Vlašić support de Croatian constitutional referendum insyd 2013 wey dey state dat marriage be matrimony between a woman den a man. She be a devout Roman Catholic.

On 26 May 2022 Vlašić announce on instagram say na she marry Belgian sports journalist Ruben Van Gucht wey na she preg plus de couple dema kiddie.

## References



## External links

* Blanka Vlašić's official web page at the Wayback Machine (archived 2009-06-11)
* Blanka Vlašić at World Athletics
* Blanka Vlašić at European Athletics (archive)
* Blanka Vlašić at Olympedia 
* Blanka Vlašić at Olympics.com 
* Blanka Vlašić at Olympic.org (archived) 
* Blanka Vlašić at the *Hrvatski olimpijski odbor* (in Croatian) (Croatian archive, English archive)
* SPIKES Hero profile at spikesmag.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 14 July 2008)
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