Angelica Bengtsson
Encyclopedia
Angelica Therese Bengtsson (born 8 July 1993) is a Swedish
track and field
athlete who specialises in the pole vault
. She became the first pole vault winner at the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore
, 2010.
She has been a highly successful youth and junior athlete, winning gold medal
s at the 2009 World Youth Championships
and the 2010 World Junior Championships in 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. She has already had success at senior level, having won the national indoor championships twice. She is also the Swedish national record holder.
, Sweden
, Angelica Bengtsson initially started out in gymnastics
and also hoped to follow in her father's footsteps in the javelin throw
. It quickly became apparent that she had a talent for pole vault
ing, however, and she began her career at club level for IFK Växjö, before going on to join Hässelby SK. She enjoyed her first global victory at the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships, where at the age of sixteen she won the pole vault gold medal
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
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, 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. 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
for a winning mark of 4.25 m. Her achievements made her one of the headline athletes at the first ever Summer Youth Olympics
in Singapore
. 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.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete who specialises in the pole vault
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
. She became the first pole vault winner at the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, 2010.
She has been a highly successful youth and junior athlete, winning gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the 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...
s at the 2009 World Youth Championships
2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics
The 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics is the sixth edition of the World Youth Championships in Athletics. They were held in Brixen, Italy from 8–12 July 2009. Athletes must be aged 16 or 17 on 31 December 2009 to compete....
and the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics
2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 13th 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 19–25 July 2010. A total of 44 athletics events were contested at the Championships, 22 by male...
. 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. She has already had success at senior level, having won the national indoor championships twice. She is also the Swedish national record holder.
Biography
Born on 8 July 1993 in VäckelsångVäckelsång
Väckelsång is a locality situated in Tingsryd Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 979 inhabitants in 2005....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Angelica Bengtsson initially started out in gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
and also hoped to follow in her father's footsteps in the javelin throw
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
. It quickly became apparent that she had a talent for pole vault
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
ing, however, and she began her career at club level for IFK Växjö, before going on to join Hässelby SK. She enjoyed her first global victory at the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships, where at the age of sixteen she won the pole vault gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the 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...
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
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
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, 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
2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 13th 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 19–25 July 2010. A total of 44 athletics events were contested at the Championships, 22 by male...
in Moncton. 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 Bleasdale
Holly Bethan Bleasdale is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the pole vault. She is the British record holder after breaking Kate Dennison's record on 2 July 2011.-Biography:...
for a winning mark of 4.25 m. Her achievements made her one of the headline athletes at the first ever Summer Youth Olympics
2010 Summer Youth Olympics
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games , were an international multi-sport event for youths that took place in the city-state of Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010, in the XXIX Olympiad. They were the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics, a major...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. 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
Silke Spiegelburg
Silke Spiegelburg is a German pole vaulter. She is the younger sister of Richard Spiegelburg. She represented Germany at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and 2008, as well as having competed at the World Championships in Athletics...
'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
Swedish records in athletics
The following are the national records in athletics in Sweden maintained by its national athletics federation: Svenska Friidrottsförbundet .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:OT = oversized track# = not recognised by federation-External links:* *...
at the same time.