Stefan Holm
Encyclopedia
Stefan Christian Holm is a retired Swedish
high jumper. He has won an Olympic
gold medal
, a silver
in the World Championships, and one silver and one bronze medal
in the European Championships
. His personal records are is 2.37 m (7ft 9.3in) (outdoors, set 2008) and indoors 2.40 m (7ft 10.49in) (indoors, set 2005).
, the son of father Johnny and mother Elisabeth. He has a sister named Veronica who is three years older than he. Holm married Anna in 2005 and they have a son, Melwin, born in 2004.
Holm, who is trained by his father, has not always been a high jumper. For many of his childhood years, Holm played football (following in the footsteps of his father, who was at that time a goalkeeper in a local fourth division team). It was not until 1991 when he realized that he had more potential as a high jumper than a footballer.
His inspiration for high-jumping was when at 8 years old he saw Swedish high-jumping legend, and former world-record holder, Patrik Sjöberg
, compete on television.
Holm's big breakthrough onto the world athletics scene came in 2000, when he finished 4th at the Sydney Olympics
with a leap of 2.32m (7ft 7.34in). 24 years old at the time, Holm had been high jumping for over half of his life.
He set an indoor personal best of 2.36 (7ft 8.91in) in 2003 to win the Hochsprung mit Musik
meeting, and managed to reach the same height outdoors the following year while winning the Internationales Hochsprung-Meeting Eberstadt
. In 2004, Holm was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
.
Holm has the distinction of jumping 2 m or higher in six different techniques. With his height, being only 1.81 m, he shares the unofficial World Record of height jumped above own height (59 cm) with USA's 1970s jumper Franklin Jacobs
. In 1993 he participated in a decathlon
where he jumped higher in the high jump (2.04 m) than in the pole vault
(2.00 m).
Holm finished 4th at the 2008 Summer Olympics
with a leap of 2.32 m. On September 13, 2008 he announced his retirement from the sport. Holm ended his 20-year career with a second place at the World Athletics Final
in Stuttgart
.
Holm is the one of two jumpers to have cleared 2.40 m indoors since Javier Sotomayor
(the other being Ivan Ukhov
) - outdoors this has also been achieved by Vyacheslav Voronin
.
He returned to high jump competition in 2010 for a charity event: the Auto Lounge Comeback competition in Sweden. As his main rival Patrik Sjöberg
had a knee injury, Holm agreed to jump off his wrong foot to even the score. He beat Sjöberg in the wrong-footed faceoff and went back to his normal takeoff to jump 2.15 m for third behind Ukhov and Donald Thomas
.
Holm lives in Karlstad
, Sweden, and competed for Kils
AIK. He is an avid fan of Färjestads BK
, a Swedish Elite League ice hockey
team, and also IF Björklöven
in the third division.
World Championships in Athletics
World Indoor Championships in Athletics
European Athletics Championships
European Indoor Athletics Championships
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....
high jumper. He has won an Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
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...
, a silver
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
in the World Championships, and one silver and one bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
in the European Championships
European Championships in Athletics
The European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle. After the 2010 Championships in Barcelona, the European Championships will take...
. His personal records are is 2.37 m (7ft 9.3in) (outdoors, set 2008) and indoors 2.40 m (7ft 10.49in) (indoors, set 2005).
Biography
Holm was born in ForshagaForshaga Municipality
Forshaga Municipality is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Forshaga.The first municipality named Forshaga was a market town which was detached from Grava in 1944...
, the son of father Johnny and mother Elisabeth. He has a sister named Veronica who is three years older than he. Holm married Anna in 2005 and they have a son, Melwin, born in 2004.
Holm, who is trained by his father, has not always been a high jumper. For many of his childhood years, Holm played football (following in the footsteps of his father, who was at that time a goalkeeper in a local fourth division team). It was not until 1991 when he realized that he had more potential as a high jumper than a footballer.
His inspiration for high-jumping was when at 8 years old he saw Swedish high-jumping legend, and former world-record holder, Patrik Sjöberg
Patrik Sjöberg
Jan Niklas Patrik Sjöberg is a former Swedish high jumper and previous world record holder. With , he holds the Swedish as well as the European record in men's high jump...
, compete on television.
Holm's big breakthrough onto the world athletics scene came in 2000, when he finished 4th at the Sydney Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
with a leap of 2.32m (7ft 7.34in). 24 years old at the time, Holm had been high jumping for over half of his life.
He set an indoor personal best of 2.36 (7ft 8.91in) in 2003 to win the Hochsprung mit Musik
Hochsprung mit Musik
The Hochsprung mit Musik is an annual indoor high jump meeting which takes place in February in Arnstadt, Germany. First held in 1977, the meeting began as a competition between mainly East German athletes...
meeting, and managed to reach the same height outdoors the following year while winning the Internationales Hochsprung-Meeting Eberstadt
Internationales Hochsprung-Meeting Eberstadt
The Internationales Hochsprung-Meeting is an annual high jumping competition which takes place in Eberstadt, Germany. Established as a men's competition in 1979, it quickly became an important meeting in the high jump calendar, with Jacek Wszoła setting a world record in 1980, and Zhu Jianhua...
. In 2004, Holm was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
The Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal is an annual award "for the most significant Swedish sports achievement of the year". It has been awarded by a jury led by the Swedish morning paper Svenska Dagbladet since 1925. According to its statutes the Medal may be awarded in November or December to either...
.
Holm has the distinction of jumping 2 m or higher in six different techniques. With his height, being only 1.81 m, he shares the unofficial World Record of height jumped above own height (59 cm) with USA's 1970s jumper Franklin Jacobs
Franklin Jacobs
Franklin Jacobs is a former high jumper from the United States. His personal best of was a world indoor record in 1978, and at above Jacobs' own height of , it remains the record for height differential, now held jointly with Stefan Holm, and the record for jump at highest rate of one's...
. In 1993 he participated in a decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
where he jumped higher in the high jump (2.04 m) than 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...
(2.00 m).
Holm finished 4th at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
with a leap of 2.32 m. On September 13, 2008 he announced his retirement from the sport. Holm ended his 20-year career with a second place at the World Athletics Final
2008 IAAF World Athletics Final
The 6th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart, Germany on September 13 and September 14, 2008.A number of road races also took place on the second day of competition. There were seven different starting points around the Stuttgart area and the distances varied...
in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
.
Holm is the one of two jumpers to have cleared 2.40 m indoors since Javier Sotomayor
Javier Sotomayor
Javier Sotomayor Sanabria is a Cuban former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump and is the current world record holder. The 1992 Olympic champion, he was the dominant high jumper of the 1990s; he is the only person ever to have cleared 8 feet . He is widely regarded as the...
(the other being Ivan Ukhov
Ivan Ukhov
Ivan Sergeyevich Ukhov is a Russian high jumper. He won gold medals at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships. He was also the silver medallist at the 2010 European Athletics Championships and the winner of the high jump at the inaugural 2010...
) - outdoors this has also been achieved by Vyacheslav Voronin
Vyacheslav Voronin
Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Voronin is a Russian athlete, who specializes in the high jump.Voronin is a World Champion and European Indoor Champion . His personal best is 2.40 metres, set in London in August 2000. He competed in Athens 2004 and Helsinki 2005, but did not win medals in either...
.
He returned to high jump competition in 2010 for a charity event: the Auto Lounge Comeback competition in Sweden. As his main rival Patrik Sjöberg
Patrik Sjöberg
Jan Niklas Patrik Sjöberg is a former Swedish high jumper and previous world record holder. With , he holds the Swedish as well as the European record in men's high jump...
had a knee injury, Holm agreed to jump off his wrong foot to even the score. He beat Sjöberg in the wrong-footed faceoff and went back to his normal takeoff to jump 2.15 m for third behind Ukhov and Donald Thomas
Donald Thomas (athlete)
Donald Thomas is a Bahamian high jumper.Thomas took up the sport in early 2006, having previously played basketball at Lindenwood University...
.
Holm lives in Karlstad
Karlstad Municipality
Karlstad Municipality is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Karlstad....
, Sweden, and competed for Kils
Kil Municipality
Kil Municipality is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Kil.The local government reform of 1971 amalgamated Stora Kil, Järnskog and a part of Brunskog, thus forming Kil Municipality....
AIK. He is an avid fan of Färjestads BK
Färjestads BK
Färjestads Bollklubb is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Karlstad. Färjestad has had 18 Swedish Championship final appearances, winning nine times since Elitserien was started in 1975. The team plays in the highest Swedish league, and have done so since 1965...
, a Swedish Elite League ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team, and also IF Björklöven
IF Björklöven
IF Björklöven is a Swedish professional ice hockey club in Umeå, Västerbotten, in northern Sweden...
in the third division.
High jump
Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
- 20042004 Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
— 2.36 metres — Gold
World Championships in Athletics
- 20032003 World Championships in AthleticsThe 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...
, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
— 2.32 metres — Silver
World Indoor Championships in Athletics
- 20082008 IAAF World Indoor ChampionshipsThe 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7-9, 2008.-Bid:Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.-Men:...
, Valencia — 2.36 metres — Gold - 2004, BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
— 2.35 metres — Gold - 2003, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
— 2.35 metres — Gold - 2001, LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
— 2.32 metres — Gold
European Athletics Championships
- 20062006 European Championships in AthleticsThe 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...
, GothenburgGothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
— 2.34 metres — Bronze - 20022002 European Championships in AthleticsThe 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany.-Track:1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |2010 |...
, MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
— 2.29 metres — Silver
European Indoor Athletics Championships
- 2007, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
— 2.34 metres — Gold - 20052005 European Indoor Athletics ChampionshipsThe 28th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid, the capital city of Spain, from Friday, 4 March to Sunday, 6 March 2005.-Men:...
, MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
— 2.40 metres — Gold - 2002, ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
— 2.30 metres — Silver
Other victories
- 1998: BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(IAAF Golden LeagueIAAF Golden LeagueThe IAAF Golden League was an annual series of track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations...
-meet) - 2.28 m - 1999: LahtiLahtiLahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...
(European CupEuropean Cup (athletics)The European Cup is a now defunct athletics competition, replaced by the European Team Championships from 2009 onwards. The Europa Cup saw most of the major nations of Europe compete. Originally known as the Bruno Zauli Cup, it first took place in Stuttgart and Kassel , Germany in 1965...
first league) - 2.27 m; StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
(Grand Prix) - 2.29 m - 2000: GatesheadGatesheadGateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
(European cup super league) - 2.28 m - 2001: HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
(Grand Prix) - 2.26 m; VaasaVaasaVaasa is a city on the west coast of Finland. It received its charter in 1606, during the reign of Charles IX of Sweden and is named after the Royal House of Vasa...
(European cup first league) - 2.28 m; BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
(Goodwill GamesGoodwill GamesThe Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
) - 2.33 m - 2002: DohaDohaDoha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
(Grand Prix) - 2.28 m; SevilleSevilleSeville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
(European cup first league) - 2.33 m; ZürichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
(Golden League-meet) - 2.35 m; RietiRietiRieti is a city and comune in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of c. 47,700. It is the capital of province of Rieti.The town centre rests on a small hilltop, commanding a wide plain at the southern edge of an ancient lake. The area is now the fertile basin of the Velino River...
(Grand Prix) - 2.29m; ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(Grand Prix Final) - 2.31 m - 2003: LappeenrantaLappeenrantaLappeenranta is a city and municipality that resides on the shore of the lake Saimaa in South-Eastern Finland, about from the Russian border. It belongs to the region of South Karelia. With approximately inhabitants Lappeenranta is the largest city in Finland...
(European cup first league) - 2.24 m; RethymnoRethymnoRethymno is a city of approximately 40,000 people in Greece, the capital of Rethymno peripheral unit in the island of Crete. It was built in antiquity , even though was never a competitive Minoan centre...
(athletics meet) - 2.34 m; Gateshead (Grand Prix) - 2.30 m - 2004: Bydgoszcz (European cup super league) - 2.32 m; Iraklio (Grand Prix) - 2.33 m; Internationales Hochsprung-Meeting EberstadtInternationales Hochsprung-Meeting EberstadtThe Internationales Hochsprung-Meeting is an annual high jumping competition which takes place in Eberstadt, Germany. Established as a men's competition in 1979, it quickly became an important meeting in the high jump calendar, with Jacek Wszoła setting a world record in 1980, and Zhu Jianhua...
) - 2.36 m; Stockholm (Grand Prix) - 2.33 m; MonacoMonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
(World Athletics Final) - 2.33 m - 2005: GävleGävleGävle is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 71,033 inhabitants in 12/31 2010. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland , having received its charter in 1446 from Christopher of Bavaria.-History:It is believed that the name Gävle...
(European cup first league) - 2.27 m; ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
Saint-DenisSaint-DenisSaint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
(Golden League) - 2.32 m; Stockholm (Grand Prix) - 2.33 m; OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
(Golden League) - 2.29 m - 2006: LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(Grand Prix) - 2.34 m - 2007: Vaasa (European cup first league) - 2.30 m; LausanneLausanneLausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
(Grand Prix) - 2.28 m; London (Grand Prix) - 2.32 m; Stockholm (Grand Prix) - 2.35 m - 2008: IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
(European cup first league) - 2.25 m; AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
(Grand Prix) - 2.37 m; Stockholm (Grand Prix) - 2.30 m