Melker Svärd Jacobsson

Melker Svärd Jacobsson (born 8 January 1994)[1] is a Swedish pole vaulter.

Melker Svärd Jacobsson
Jacobsson in 2019
Personal information
Born (1994-01-08) January 8, 1994
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight79 kg (174 lb)
Sport
Country Sweden
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Pole vault
Medal record
European Indoor Championships
2019 GlasgowPole vault

Athletics career

At the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore, Jacobsson placed joint fourth in the final of the boys' pole vault with a jump of 4.85 metres.[1]

He won the silver medal at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Athletics and finished sixth at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics.[1][2] In 2014 he finished 19th in the men's pole vault at the European Athletics Championships with a jump of 5.30 metres.[1]

Jacobsson set an indoor personal best jump of 5.65 metres, at an event in Potsdam in February 2014.[3] In autumn 2014 Jacobsson underwent surgery on both his hips to correct an issue that had caused him pain since the age of ten.[2][4] After four months of recovery he suffered a groin injury that resulted in pain when he jumped, which doctors were unable to diagnose for eight months. In January 2015 German surgeon Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, who had previously operated on other athletes including Usain Bolt, Sanna Kallur and Christian Olsson, as well as U2 singer Bono, identified the issue and carried out a second surgery.[2][4] During his recovery period Jacobsson caught glandular fever.[4] He eventually returned to training in December 2015 under a new coach, Gustaf Hultgren.[4]

Jacobsson was one of the first four track and field athletes to qualify to compete for Sweden at the 2016 Summer Olympics, having met the qualifying standard of 5.70 metres for the men's pole vault.[5][6] He met the standard by setting a new personal best of exactly 5.70 metres at an event in Austin, Texas, United States.[7] He has also surpassed the qualification standard of 5.55 metres needed to compete at the 2016 European Athletics Championships due to be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands.[6] He reached the final there but did not start in it. In the end, he was also withdrawn from the Rio squad due to an injury.[8]

Competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
Representing  Sweden
2010 Youth Olympic Games Singapore 4th 4.85 m
2011 World Youth Championships Lille, France 2nd 5.15 m
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 6th 5.35 m
2013 European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 14th (q) 5.50 m
2014 European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 19th (q) 5.30 m
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 9th (q) 5.50 m1
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 9th 5.70 m
European Championships Berlin, Germany – NM
2019 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 3rd 5.75 m

1Did not start in the final

References
  1. "Melker Svärd Jacobsson" (in Swedish). Swedish Olympic Committee. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  2. "Bonos läkare räddade OS-hoppets karriär". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). 16 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  3. "Melker Svard JAcobsson Athlete Profile". International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  4. Karlsson, Erik (10 April 2016). "Comebacksuccén efter mardrömsåret". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  5. "Efter nya storloppet kan Sarah börja ladda för Rio". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish). 23 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  6. "Seniorer arena 2016" (in Swedish). Swedish Athletics Association. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  7. Åkesson, Richard (3 April 2016). "Melker klarade OS-kvalgräns". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  8. "Svärd Jacobsson missar OS – skadad" (in Swedish). 12 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
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