Blanka Vlašic Dancing Her Way To High-Jump History

By adidas Grand Prix (Sponsored Post)
May 12, 2011

When high jump superstar Blanka Vlašic makes her U.S. debut at the adidas Grand Prix on June 11, it’s safe to say the Croatian beauty will immediately dazzle thousands of new fans. Take it from an authority.

“Blanka likes to do everything to perfection but also entertain,” says sprinter Tyson Gay, who has observed her on more than one occasion. “That’s a hard combination, and I think that’s why she’s so much fun to watch. Well … her legs and dancing don’t hurt, either.”

Given that Gay will be warming up for the 100 meters just as Vlašic takes her place on the infield, history’s second-fastest man probably won’t get a chance to see history’s second-best high jumper compete in New York. Too bad, because the 2010 IAAF Female Athlete of the Year is definitely eager for her first taste of the Big Apple.

“New York City is the biggest stage of all,” says the woman some call track’s glamour girl. “I’m looking forward to seeing the famous sights, but I am especially excited to compete for the first time in my career on U.S. soil. I love to compete and do hope that a lot of people will come to watch. This could make such an atmosphere which I enjoy, and is motivating me to big heights.”

Every year, one athlete leaves Icahn Stadium as a favorite of the track-savvy crowd. In 2006, it was Meseret Defar when she embraced the heavens after breaking the 5000-meter World Record in the final event of the night. In 2007, Tyson Gay, in a classy, breakout 100-meter win. In 2008? Usain Bolt, pulling lightning from the stormy skies right onto the track as he set his first 100-meter World Record. Last year it was Veronica Campbell-Brown, running the fastest women’s 200 meters on U.S. soil in a decade.

Anyone taking bets that June 11, 2011, will belong to Blanka?

All eyes will be on the run-up. Each jump begins with a stone-faced Vlašic, already deep in concentration, raising her arms and bringing her hands together in a rhythmic clapping soon taken over by the crowd. Leaning back ever so slightly, she rocks forward to begin her long-legged approach, chopping her steps before inverting her 6-foot, 4-inch frame into an elegant comma as she flings herself backwards over the bar. If she’s particularly pleased, the comma becomes an exclamation point as she rises tall from the pit, arms straight down at her sides, and shouts her satisfaction.

And the really big jumps? They might be punctuated by fist pumps and mock pistol shots, or just as likely by a slow-motion dance of celebration, a side-to-side glide all her own. “It just comes naturally,” she told a London newspaper last summer.

Indeed. With a mother who was a basketball player and a father who was a national-class decathlete, Vlašic’s athleticism was nurtured from an early age. So too, it turns out, was her stardom. Born while her father was away, the infant was named after the city in which he was competing at the time: Casablanca.

Few would deny that Vlašic has earned the spotlight, or her right to dance: the 27-year-old comes to New York ranked #1 in the world. A four-time World Champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist, she is one of the most dominant athletes in the sport. Between June 24, 2007 and Aug. 23, 2008, Vlašic posted a 34-meet winning streak and last year won 18 of 20 meets, including all seven of her Diamond League competitions and the European Championships. Her personal best of 2.08 meters/6 feet, 9.75 inches, set in 2009, is only one centimeter off the 24-year-old world record – a mark she would dearly love to break, and soon.

While Vlašic’ main goal this season is a three-peat at the IAAF World Championships this summer in Daegu, Korea, she is looking toward London, as well. Although this will be her fourth Olympics – at her first, in 2000, she was just 16 – she is still in search of an elusive gold medal. She couldn’t have come much closer in Beijing, jumping a sparkling 2.05 meters/6 feet, 8 ¾ inches only to fall short of the gold by a miss on her first attempt at that height.

From the perspective of her fans, it might be just as well. Can you imagine the dance when she finally wins?

In its seventh year as one of the premier track-and-field events in the world, the adidas Grand Prix on Randall’s Island is the sixth stop on the international Samsung Diamond League circuit. Tickets are available at the event website, www.adidasgrandprix.com, or by calling 1-877-TIX-TRAC.

Special Message from Blanka Vlasic below:

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