Ivana Vuleta (; sr-cyr, Ивана Вулета, , ; born 10 May 1990) is a Serbian
long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
er, two-time
World indoor champion, three times European indoor champion and reigning European champion.
In 2013, Vuleta became the first Serbian
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 to win a medal at the
IAAF Outdoor World Championships. In 2018, she became the first Serbian track and field athlete to win a world senior gold medal at the
IAAF Indoor World Championships. She is the
Serbian record holder in the long jump, indoors and outdoors, and also she is the national indoor record holder in the
60 metres
60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior at ...
and in the
pentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...
. Her coach is
Goran Obradović and she is a member of the
Vojvodina Athletic Club, based in
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
.
Career
Španović earned gold medals at the
2008 World Junior Championships and the
2009 Summer Universiade
The 2009 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXV Summer Universiade, was celebrated in Belgrade, Serbia from July 1 to 12, 2009. The event has also been organised by a range of co-host cities mostly in Vojvodina (Serbian Autonomous Provin ...
. She was selected as Serbia's
Best Young Athlete of 2008. She also won silver medals at the
2007 World Youth Championships, the
2009 European Junior Championships and the
2011 European U23 Championships.
Španović participated in the qualifying round at the
2008 Olympic Games, and was a finalist at the
2012 Olympic Games.
In 2013, she started at the
European Indoor Championship when she was ranked fifth. At the
World outdoor championship she had achieved the best result in her career by then, bronze medal with the new national record 6.82 meters. The
Olympic Committee of Serbia
The Olympic Committee of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the National Olympic Committee representing Serbia. It organizes the country's representatives at the Olympic Games and other multisport events.
Members of the committee are 47 sports federations, wh ...
therefore declared her the best
female athlete of the year.
In 2014, she won the bronze medal at the
World Indoor Championships and silver medals at the
European Outdoor championship and
IAAF Continental Cup
The IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field competition organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
The event was proposed by IAAF former President Primo Nebiolo and was first held in 1977 as ...
in
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
. She also improved her outdoor personal best on 6.88 meters in the Diamond League meet in
Eugene.
Španović was second in long jump at
2014 Diamond League race.
In 2015, she won her first gold medal as a senior athlete becoming
European indoor champion with new national record 6.98 meters. She won the second bronze medal at the
World outdoor championship, improving her national record twice, both in qualification (6.91) and the final (7.01 got twice). Španović was second in long jump at
2015 Diamond League race. The
Olympic Committee of Serbia
The Olympic Committee of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the National Olympic Committee representing Serbia. It organizes the country's representatives at the Olympic Games and other multisport events.
Members of the committee are 47 sports federations, wh ...
therefore declared her the best
female athlete of the year for the second time.
In 2016, during the indoor season, Španović won the silver medal at the
World Indoor Championships improving her national record twice,
7.00 (at first round) and 7.07 (at fifth round). She was ahead for all the competition but she lost the gold medal because Reese had a fantastic 7.22 at the final round. During the outdoor, first Španović won the gold at the
European Outdoor championship with 6.94, then she won the bronze medal at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
with 7.08, new national record. Španović won for Serbia a medal in athletics at Olympic Games 60 years after the last medal. Španović clearly won
2016 Diamond League race in long jump. She won 5 of 7 meetings (a new record for Diamond League in long jump because before her none won more than 4 meetings in a year) and she was second in the other two ones. At the end of her long season, Španović improved her national record to 7.10 in a street meeting in front of her home fans in Belgrade on September 11. This manifestation was held to promote 2017 European Indoor Championships in Belgrade.
In 2017, she had an impressive win at
European indoor championships in Belgrade. During the qualification she achieved
the best ever indoor mark in a qualification round with 7.03. In the final she broke her national records twice, 7.16 (at second round) and 7.24
(at third round). So, she defended her gold medal got in 2015. Her new national record, 7.24, put her as the third all-time indoor performers, and
result is the second best ever jumped in the European Indoor Championships (after Drechsler's 7.30 in 1988) and the best performance got in the latest 18 years, since Chistyakova has jumped 7.30 on 28.01.1989. During the outdoor season, she had injuries so before the
World outdoor championships she competed only in two Diamond League meetings. She led in the first part of the competition, but she was only 4th before her last attempt. With her final jump Spanović seemed to land beyond the 7.02 mark of the leading, Brittney Reese, and tensely awaited the measurement but it was recorded only as 6.91. The Serbian team appealed but in slow motion replays it showed that maybe the indentation in the sand nearest to the board was made by the flapping bib number on her back. Her coach Obradović saw VDM images (the system used for measuring horizontal jumps) but according to him it was not clear if the possible mark was result of a bib contact or just of unevenly flattened sand. So she was only 4th with 6.96, behind Reese’s 7.02, Klishina’s 7.00 and Bartoletta’s 6.97. After World Championships Spanović won
2017 Diamond League race in long jump for the second consecutive time.
In 2018 she achieved the first world title, winning the
World Indoor Championships in Birmingham with 6.96. Reese was 2nd with 6.89 and Moguenara 3rd with 6.85. Španović is the first Serbian athlete to win a world senior title in athletics.
After Španović won the gold medal at the
Mediterranean Games
The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...
in Tarragona with the Games record (7.04 windy and 6.99 regular), she got
the best performance in the qualification at
European Championships in Berlin. But an injury during the qualification forced her to give up the final and to defend her title. Her 6.84 got in qualification was better than the performance got by Mihambo (6.75) to win the gold medal, so it was the best result in the competition.
The injury at Achille's tendon forced Španović to give up the final part of the season, included
2018 Diamond League race in which she qualified for the final.
In 2019 Španović, recovered by the injury of the previous summer, won gold medal at
European indoor championships in Glasgow with 6.99. She matched the world indoor leading mark of 6.99 to emulate Heike Drechsler (1986–1988) as a three times in a row winner, but she got it in editions held every two years (2015–2017–2019). During the summer Španović had various injuries, including the one at ISTAF Berlin meeting, and was forced to forfeit the World Championships in Doha.
In 2020, Španović, bothered by a metatarsal bone fracture in June, decided to end her season already in August. She planned to compete at the European Indoor Championships next year, but not at the World Indoor Championships two weeks later. During the year, she had only one competition 6.80/0.8 long jump on June 6 in Novi Sad.
In 2021, Španović injured her right leg in the last training before leaving to Toruń and was forced to skip
European indoor championships in which she was trying for the record, fourth successive title in it. Recovered by the injury, in the outdoor season, she had two successes in the
2021 Diamond League race at the
Golden Gala
Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pie ...
in Firenze and at the
DN Galan
BAUHAUS-galan, formerly known as DN-Galan is an annual, international athletics meeting that takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Previously it was one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events until 2010, and has since been part of th ...
in Stockholm and one second place at
Bislett Games
The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League.
History
The first international athletics meeting at Bislet ...
in Oslo, before competing in Olympic Games.
In Olympic Games she got the best performance in the qualification (7.00), measure which would have allowed her to win the gold medal in the final. But she jumped only 6.91 in the final and she was fourth.
After the disappointment of the Olympic Games, Španović had another success in the
2021 Diamond League race at the
Athletissima in Lausanne. At least
she had a success in
Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF G ...
, final of
2021 Diamond League race, with a result of 6.96. So she won for the third time the long jump in the
Diamond League
The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...
, the most winning in this event.
In 2022, Španović-Vuleta retained her title at the World Indoor Championships. She won the
World Indoor Championships with 7.06, the best performance of the 2022 indoor season. She gained the fourth consecutive medal in the event: bronze in 2014, silver in 2016, gold in 2018 and 2022. After a disappointing 7th place at
World outdoor championships in Eugene, but with a millimeter foul, enough for a medal, she had a brilliant final of the season. First she won the gold medal at
European Championships in Munich with a 7.06 jump, the best one in European Championships from 1998. She achieved 7.06 at the first attempt and it was the first jump over 7.00 at European Championships in the 21th century. After her 7th gold medal at the major championships, Španović-Vuleta won the final of
2022 Diamond League race in
Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF G ...
, with a result of 6.97, once again got on the first jump. So she won for the fourth time the long jump in the
Diamond League
The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...
, the most winning in this event. The
Olympic Committee of Serbia
The Olympic Committee of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the National Olympic Committee representing Serbia. It organizes the country's representatives at the Olympic Games and other multisport events.
Members of the committee are 47 sports federations, wh ...
therefore declared her the best
female athlete of the year for the third time.
Španović has achieved seventeen victories in the
IAAF Diamond League
The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...
circuit, a record in women long jump: at the
DN Galan
BAUHAUS-galan, formerly known as DN-Galan is an annual, international athletics meeting that takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Previously it was one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events until 2010, and has since been part of th ...
in 2013 (although in that year women long jump were not present in the Diamond League program of the meeting); at the
Prefontaine Classic
The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University ...
and
Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF G ...
in 2014; at the
Herculis and
Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF G ...
in 2015; at the
Shanghai Golden Grand Prix
The Diamond League Shanghai is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, China as part of the Diamond League. The meeting was founded as the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in 2005. The meet assumed its current name in 2010.
From ...
, at the
Bislett Games
The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League.
History
The first international athletics meeting at Bislet ...
, at the
DN Galan
BAUHAUS-galan, formerly known as DN-Galan is an annual, international athletics meeting that takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Previously it was one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events until 2010, and has since been part of th ...
, at the
Athletissima and at
Meeting Areva
Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamon ...
in 2016; at the
Athletissima and at
Memorial Van Damme
The Memorial Van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, that takes place in late August or early September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now the final event of the Diamond L ...
, final of the Diamond League in 2017; at the
Golden Gala
Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pie ...
, at the
DN Galan
BAUHAUS-galan, formerly known as DN-Galan is an annual, international athletics meeting that takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm. Previously it was one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events until 2010, and has since been part of th ...
, at the
Athletissima, at the
Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF G ...
, final of the Diamond League in 2021; at the
Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF G ...
, final of the Diamond League in 2022. Also, she has achieved two victories in the
IAAF World Challenge
The IAAF World Challenge was an annual, global circuit of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). First held in 2010, it replaced the IAAF Grand Prix and IAAF Super Grand Pri ...
circuit, at the
ISTAF Berlin
The Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) is an annual track and field Sport of athletics, athletics meeting at the Olympiastadion (Berlin), Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. It was first held in July 1921 at the Deutsches Stadion (Berlin), Deuts ...
in 2015 and at the
Hanžeković Memorial
Hanžeković Memorial ( hr, Hanžekovićev memorijal) is an athletics event at the Sportski Park Mladost athletic stadium in Zagreb, Croatia as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1951.
''Hanžek'' (which is the ...
with 6.96, new meeting record, in 2016.
Since 2013 World Championships Španović has won 13 medals in major championships.
She set
30 national senior records: 12 outdoors (all in long jump), 18 indoors (16 in long jump, 1 in 60m, 1 in pentathlon).
Personal bests
Outdoor
Indoor
International competitions
1Did not start in the final
Honours
*
Order of Karađorđe's Star
The Order of Karađorđe's Star ( sr, Orden Karađorđeve zvezde, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Орден Карађорђеве звезде) is Serbia's highest civilian and military decoration. It originated in the Kingdom of Serbia, and was initial ...
*
Order of Njegoš
Personal life
Ivana's parents are Ljubiša and Vesna Španović. Her mother was also a competitive athlete. She favors a distinctive and playful personal style. Even on the field she can be seen fiercely competing with her fellow elite athletes while sporting fashionable nails, often polished in neon colours.
Španović married
fitness nutritionist Marko Vuleta in September 2021. She officially adopted her husband's last name upon marriage.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanovic, Ivana
1990 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Zrenjanin
Serbian female long jumpers
Olympic athletes of Serbia
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
World Athletics Championships athletes for Serbia
European Athletics Championships winners
World Athletics Championships medalists
Olympic bronze medalists for Serbia
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)
European champions for Serbia
Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Serbia
Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics
Universiade gold medalists for Serbia
World Athletics Indoor Championships winners
Diamond League winners
Mediterranean Games gold medalists in athletics
Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade
European Athletics Indoor Championships winners
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics