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Kajsa Bergqvist
	Kajsa Bergqvist during the Swedish Sports Awards inside the Stockholm Globe Arena in January 2013
Personal information
Full name	Kajsa Margareta Bergqvist
Born	12 October 1976 (age 48); Sollentuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	59 kg (130 lb)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event	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
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Sweden
Olympic Games
World Championships
European Championships
World Indoor Championships
European Indoor Championships
World Athletics Final
	Updated on 18 August 2013

Kajsa Margareta Bergqvist (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkǎjːsa ˈbæ̂rjkvɪst]; 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.^[2]

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. One of her motivational athletes was Carl Lewis.^[3]

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.^[4]^[5]

In 2021 Bergqvist became head coach of the Swedish national athletics team.^[6]

Personal life

Bergqvist married director Måns Herngren on New Year's Eve in 2007. The couple announced their divorce in early 2011.^[7]

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.^[8]

International medals

High jump

Olympic Games
- 2000, Sydney – 1.99 m – Bronze
World Championships in Athletics
- 2005, Helsinki – 2.02 m – Gold
- 2003, Paris – 2.00 m – Bronze
- 2001, Edmonton – 1.97 m – Bronze
World Indoor Championships in Athletics
- 2003, Birmingham – 2.01 m – Gold
- 2001, Lisbon – 2.00 m – Gold
European Athletics Championships
- 2006, Gothenburg – 2.01 m — Bronze
- 2002, Munich – 1.98 m — Gold
European Indoor Athletics Championships
- 2002, Vienna – 1.95 m – Silver
- 2000, Ghent – 2.00 m – Gold
1997, Turku – 1.93 m – Silver
World Junior Championships in Athletics
- 1994 Lisbon – 1.88 m – Silver
European Athletics Junior Championships
- 1995, Nyíregyháza – 1.89 m – Silver

Other victories

High jump

1997: Bloomington, IN NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship – 1.93 m
1999: Boise, ID NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship – 1.90m
1999: Brussels (Golden League) – 1.97 m
2000: Stockholm (Grand Prix) – 1.96 m
2001: Vaasa (European Cup first league) – 1.92 m; Rome (Golden League) – 1.98 m; Monaco (Golden League) – 1.99 m; Berlin (Golden League) – 1.96 m
2002: Seville (European Cup first league) – 1.98 m; Lausanne (Grand Prix) – 2.04 m; Paris Saint-Denis (Golden League-meet) – 1.97 m; Stockholm (Grand Prix) – 2.00 m; Brussels (Golden League-meet) – 1.99 m
2003: Ostrava (Grand Prix) – 2.01 m; Lappeenranta (European Cup first league) – 1.96 m; Internationales Hochsprung-Meeting Eberstadt – 2.06 m (outdoor personal best)
2005: Gävle (European Cup first league) – 2.01 m; Zagreb (Grand Prix) – 2.00 m; Madrid (Grand Prix) – 1.98 m; Stockholm (Grand Prix) – 1.95 m; Sheffield (Grand Prix) – 2.03 m; Monaco (World Athletics Final) – 2.00 m
2006: Doha (Grand Prix) – 1.97 m; Málaga (European Cup super league) – 1.97 m; Athens (Grand Prix) – 2.00 m; Stockholm (Grand Prix) – 2.02 m; London (Grand Prix) – 2.05 m; Eberstadt (high jump-meet) – 1.98 m; Stuttgart (World Athletics Final) – 1.98 m
2007; Vaasa (European Cup first league) – 1.92 m; Sheffield (Grand Prix) – 1.95 m

Kajsa Bergqvist's 2.06 m jump in Eberstadt 2003

References

^ Kajsa Bergqvist's IAAF profile
^ "2.08 world indoor high jump record for Bergqvist in Arnstadt". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
^ "worldathletics.org: Legend Of Athletics - Kajsa Bergqvist - Signature Edition". youtube.com. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
^ Arcoleo, Laura (7 July 2007). World Youth Press Conference – Athletes' quotes. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-09-11.
^ Turner, Chris (24 October 2005). Bergqvist is appointed as UNICEF Ambassador. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-09-11.
^ Kajsa Bergqvist blir förbundskapten – lämnar SVT, 4 June 2021
^ Ågren, Joel (13 February 2011). "Så går Kajsa vidare". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 October 2019.
^ Roström-Andersson, Sofia (20 December 2011). "Kajsa Bergqvist kommer ut". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 October 2019.

External links

Kajsa Bergqvist at Olympics.com
Kajsa Bergqvist at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
"IAAF – World Rankings – Women's High Jump". Archived from the original on 1 August 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2005.
"EAA – Kajsa Bergqvist's biography". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2005.
"Swedish high jumper Kajsa Bergqvist retires". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
BBC Sports Article – (2005 World Championships in Athletics)

Records
Preceded by Heike Henkel	Women's High Jump Indoor World Record Holder 4 February 2006 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Stefan Holm	Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal 2005	Succeeded by Anja Pärson
Achievements
Preceded by Venelina Veneva	Women's High Jump Best Year Performance 2002–2003	Succeeded by Yelena Slesarenko
Preceded by Yelena Slesarenko	Women's High Jump Best Year Performance 2005–2006	Succeeded by Blanka Vlašić
Preceded by Emelie Färdigh	Swedish National High Jump Champion 1997–2003	Succeeded by Carolina Klüft
Preceded by Emma Green	Swedish National High Jump Champion 2006	Succeeded by Emma Green