Angelica Therese Bengtsson (born 8 July 1993) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who specialises in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

. She became the first pole vault winner at the inaugural

Summer Youth Olympics The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consisten ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, 2010. Bengtsson has won

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s at the 2009 World Youth Championships and the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes under the age of 20 which was held at the Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from 19 to 25 July 2010. A total of 44 athletics ...

. She set a mark of 4.47 m for the youth world record for the event in 2010 and broke the world junior record with a vault of 4.63 m in 2011. Bengtsson placed tied 4th at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China, having set a national record of 4.70 m in the final. She set a then-national record with 4.81 m, set indoor in Clermont-Ferrand, on February 24, 2019. Bengtsson has won eleven national titles. On 1 November 2021, she announced her retirement from pole vaulting.

Biography

Bengtsson was born on 8 July 1993 in Väckelsång; her father is Swedish and her mother is

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see "Black people#Brazil, preto"). Most members of another group of people, Pardo Brazilians, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a ...

. Bengtsson initially started out in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

and also hoped to follow in her father's footsteps in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

. It quickly became apparent that she had a talent for

ing; however, and she began her career at club level for IFK Växjö, before going on to join

Hässelby SK Hässelby Athletic Sports Club is a Swedish sports club located in Hässelby within the city of Stockholm. Founded in 1913, the departments it operates include the sports football, athletics and floorball. Their football club, Hässelby SK F ...

. She enjoyed her first global victory at the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships, where at the age of sixteen she won the pole vault

with a clearance of 4.32 metres. This was a significant winning margin of 22 cm over the rest of the field. In spite of her youth, she took the national senior title at the Swedish Indoor Athletics Championships, beating her Swedish rivals with a clearance of 4.30 m. Bengtsson established herself as one of top youth athletes at the 2010 European Youth Olympic Trials in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in May. Having already won the competition, she improved the world youth record to 4.42 m and then immediately improved upon this with a 4.47-metre clearance. She attempted to break the Swedish senior record (raising the bar to 4.52 m) but failed in her three vaults. Her winning mark was enough to qualify her for the senior

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Cat ...

, but she opted to focus on the younger age category competitions instead. Building upon her youth gold from the previous year, she added another gold medal to her collection at the 2010 Junior World Championship in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

. Although windy conditions reduced the level of performance, a first time clearance at 4.15 m sealed her victory over the older girls and she added an extra ten centimetres between herself and

Holly Bleasdale Holly Bethan Bradshaw (née Bleasdale, born 2 November 1991) is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the pole vault. She is the current British record holder in the event indoors and outdoors, with clearances of 4.87 metres (201 ...

for a winning mark of 4.25 m. Her achievements made her one of the headline athletes at the first ever

. She duly delivered on her favourite status by winning the competition at a height of 4.30 m. Dismissing the challenge of the Silke Spiegelburg's world junior record of 4.48 m, Bengtsson went straight for the Swedish senior record, but again 4.52 m proved too much for the young athlete. Bengtsson achieved that mark with a first time clearance at the Swedish Indoor Championships in February 2011, claiming both the world junior record and Swedish senior record at the same time. At the 2019 World Championships final, Bengtsson broke her pole in her third attempt on 4.80 m, thus having the right to re-take the attempt. She cleared that jump, which gave her 6th place in the competition, as well as a new Swedish outdoor record.

Achievements

Gallery

Angelica Bengtsson at the 2020 Bauhaus Galan meeting in Stockholm.jpg, Angelica Bengtsson at the 2020 Bauhaus Galan meeting in Stockholm

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bengtsson, Angelica 1993 births Living people Swedish female pole vaulters Swedish people of Brazilian descent People from Tingsryd Municipality Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Sweden World Athletics Championships athletes for Sweden European Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Rising Star of the Year winners Swedish Athletics Championships winners Youth Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Youth Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Kronoberg County

Biography

Achievements

See also

Gallery

References

External links