Angelica Therese Bengtsson. Pic: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula
Angelica Bengtsson, who arrived in Doha to compete in the IAAF World Athletics Championships two days ago, doesn’t believe in rushing things. The 26-year-old Swedish pole vaulter feels she has enough experience to compete against the best.
“I arrived yesterday (Tuesday). I was at the Singapore Youth Olympics in 2010. They have more or less the same weather as they do here. I think the weather is quite similar,” Angelica said in an interview.
“I think I do have the right mindset to overcome the challenges here,” the thin-looking athlete said confidently.
Excerpts from a quick Q&A session:
Is this your first visit?
A: Yes, this is my first visit to Qatar. I arrived yesterday. I was at the Singapore Youth Olympics in 2010. They have more or less the same weather as they do here. I think the weather is quite similar. I think I do have the right mindset to overcome the challenges here. I haven’t been to the Khalifa International Stadium. Everything is big and beautiful. I think the organizers have done a good job so that we can do a good job.
What are your expectations from the first week?
We, as athletes, are so excited to be here and to do well. This is the second biggest competition for us. I did not try to compete a lot this year. I just wanted to feel confident. Since this competition began very late, we split our season. I had a break and then I did some more competitions. Then I went to Italy to get a feel of the weather there so that I could get used to the heat here. I think we had a good concept of training. I did not have a good beginning of the season but I have recovered well. Normally I would have been tired by but now I am not tired. I did not cut down on the number of events I normally take part in.
Do you think you have lived up to your potential since winning the Youth Olympics gold in 2010?
I thought I had reached my peak but then I switched my coach. I went to my home city. I did my training and now I think I am on my way up. I do think I have in me to do better.
What are your long-term goals?
I have decided to do two more Olympics. The one in Tokyo and Paris. I have many years in my career.
How do you cope with stress levels as a professional level?
You don’t try to think too much of an event until you arrive at the stadium. When you arrive at the stadium, you know exactly what to do. When I am at a competition, I know really well what to do. When there is a moment you have a problem in jumping in training, I can still do the competitions because I know how to do it. So now before the competition, I try not too much about it. I think about other things.
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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 in 2010. She has been a highly successful youth and junior athlete, winning gold medals 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. Bengtsson placed tied 4th at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China, having set a national record of 4.70 m in the final. She is also the current Swedish national record holder with 4.81 m, set indoor in Clermont-Ferrand, France, on February 24, 2019. She has won eleven national titles. Her father is Swedish and her mother is Afro-Brazilian.
