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 ...

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 eve ...

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 ath ...

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 ...

. 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 P ...

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 Provinc ...

. 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 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, and was a finalist at the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. 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, w ...

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 ...

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

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 multi ...

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 The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that ...

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 ...

in Tarragona with the Games record (7.04 windy and 6.99 regular), she got the best performance in the qualification at

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

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

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

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 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 t ...

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 Bisl ...

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 Athletissima is an annual athletics meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. The first edition was held on 8 July 1977 in the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. In 1 ...

in Lausanne. At least she had a success in Weltklasse Zürich, 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

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, 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

, the most winning in this event. The

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

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 Universi ...

and Weltklasse Zürich in 2014; at the

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world re ...

and Weltklasse Zürich 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

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 Diam ...

in 2016; at the

and at Memorial Van Damme, final of the Diamond League in 2017; at the Golden Gala, at the

, at the

, at the Weltklasse Zürich, final of the Diamond League in 2021; at the Weltklasse Zürich, 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 Prix ...

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 t ...

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