The High
Jumper
Tia Hellebaut has arrived in Doha for the Qatar
Athletics Super Grand Prix 2007. The Belgian is
expected to be on the medal table after an
outstanding win last year at the outdoor
European Championship in Helsinki and at the
European championship in Birmingham last March.Tia Hellebaut started out her career as a heptathlete, becoming the Belgian heptathlon champion in 1999, 2000 and 2002 with the personal best of 6019 points. But, in 2005, she shifted her speciality to high jump and her improvement in this event over the past 2 years has been very impressive. Last year in Helsinki, she became the European champion with a jump of 2.03m beating the Bulgarian Venelina Veneva and more surprisingly the great Swedish jumper Kajsa Bergqvist.
In the European Indoor championship last March, she confirmed her skills and talent as one of the greatest jumpers of all time by dominating the competition with a personal best of 2.05m, equalling the best indoor performance of the year by Croatian Blanka Vlasic. The two athletes will meet again at the Qatar Athletics Super Grand Prix, a competition that can be singled out as one of the more interesting of the night. Also, competing in this event is the fast improving athlete from Spain, Ruth Beitia who set a new national record in the last indoor season with 2.01m.
Women's high jump is a fast tract that is entering a new era after a period of crisis following the end of career of the greater jumper ever, the Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova. Athletics fans will never forget that night, at the 2nd edition of the World Athletic Championship 1987 in the Olympic Stadium of Rome where she broke her own record and achieved the incredible height of 2.09m.
Now new generations of athletes are attempting to close the gap thanks to Tia Hellebaut and also the Swed Kajsa Bergqvist, who had a jump last year of 2.08m last year in Arnstadt, at the indoor competition.
The Belgian athlete not only has the desire to compete in Doha but also trains here. The high standards of sports infrastructure and the warm climatic conditions give her the opportunity to work in the best conditions. Tia will surely continue her hunt for the world high jump record in Doha.
