Blanka Vlasic Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump

Blanka Vlašić 8 November 1983 is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the current Croatian record holder in the event, and also the current World Champion both indoors and outdoors.
The daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, she was a talented junior athlete and attended her first Olympic Games in 2000 Sydney at the age of sixteen. She won the World Junior Championships in Athletics in both 2000 and 2002. Vlašić broke her national record in 2004 and also won her first world senior medal at the World Indoor Championships that year. A hyperthyroid condition hindered her second Olympic appearance in Athens and she spent the 2005 season recuperating from surgery.
She returned in 2006, taking the silver at the World Indoor Championships. The 2007 season signalled a strong run of form: she won at the 2007 World Championships, became the indoor world champion in 2008 and her winning streak came to an end with a narrow loss at the Beijing Olympics, where she took silver. She became World Champion for a second time in 2009. She ranks second in the all-time high jump rankings, behind Stefka Kostadinova. awards also including the IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2010 and European Athlete of the Year Trophy (2007,2010).
Contents
* 1 Early life
o 1.1 Junior career
* 2 Rising contender
o 2.1 National record and health problems
* 3 World and Olympic competition
o 3.1 From Beijing Olympics to Berlin World Championships
* 4 Statistics
o 4.1 Personal bests
o 4.2 Major competition record
* 5 Personal life
* 6 References
* 7 External links
Early life
Blanka Vlašić was born on 8 November 1983 in Split, Croatia. From a young age, it was natural for her to be involved in sports: her mother Venera was a seasoned amateur in basketball and cross country skiing while her father, Joško Vlašić, was an international athlete who broke the Croatian record in the decathlon. father brought her to the track while he practised and she dreamed of becoming a professional sprinter. As she grew up she tried a number of sports but found that the high jump was particularly well-suited to her tall and slender frame. Vlašić shunned the idea of competing in more profitable sports, such as basketball, saying that she preferred the thrill of individual sports. She reached the international standard for a high jumper at an early age, setting a personal best of 1.80 metres at fifteen years of age and quickly improving to 1.93 m at sixteen.
Blanka Vlasic
Blanka Vlasic
Blanka Vlasic
Blanka Vlasic
Blanka Vlasic
Blanka Vlasic
Blanka Vlasic

Blanka Vlasic