Nikita Glasnović (born 17 January 1995) is a Swedish-born

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

practitioner. She represented Sweden at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 57 kg division, and lost a bronze medal match to

Kimia Alizadeh Kimia Alizadeh Zonouzi ( fa, کیمیا علیزاده زنوزی, Kīmiyā Alīzādeh Zonūzī; born 10 July 1998) is an Iranian Taekwondo athlete. Alizadeh won a bronze medal in the taekwondo 57 kg weight class at the 2016 Summer Olympics ...

. Nikita and her younger brother Leon train at the Toigye Taekwondo Club in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

, which is run by their father, Mario Glasnovic; she took up taekwondo aged four. She is named after the lead character in

Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films ''Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the ' ...

's movie '' La Femme Nikita'', and her brother received his name after the protagonist of '' Léon: The Professional''. In 2011, she was selected as Malmö Most Promising Female Athlete of the Year and in 2015 as the Malmö Female Athlete of the Year. She failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics by a one point at the 2015 Grand Prix final, where she finished fourth, yet she was invited to the Olympics after withdrawal of one of the competitors, Huang Yun-wen. She studied media and communications at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion rhetorics Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate part ...

Linnaeus University Linnaeus University (LNU) ( sv, Linnéuniversitetet) is a state university in the Swedish historical province (''landskap'') Småland, with two campuses located in Växjö and Kalmar respectively. Linnaeus University was established in 2010 b ...

in 2015. In 2016, she enrolled to the art history program at Umea University and to courses in Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian languages and literature at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

References

External links

* 1995 births Living people Swedish people of Croatian descent Swedish female taekwondo practitioners Olympic taekwondo practitioners for Sweden Taekwondo practitioners at the 2016 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in taekwondo Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Croatia Mediterranean Games medalists in taekwondo Competitors at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Universiade bronze medalists for Sweden Taekwondo practitioners at the 2015 European Games European Games medalists in taekwondo European Games bronze medalists for Sweden World Taekwondo Championships medalists European Taekwondo Championships medalists Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from Malmö {{Sweden-taekwondo-bio-stub