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Who is high jumper prodigy Angelina Topic? Everything you need to know about multiple-time Olympians' daughter who reached the final at Paris Olympics
Angelina Topic showed grit and determination to reach the women's high jump final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She persevered to overcome a nasty injury at the Stade de France.
On Friday (August 2), Topic appeared to have injured her ankle early in the qualification. She got her foot heavily taped before carrying on. The injury did not deter her from giving her best as she cleared 1.92m to qualify for the final. She immediately burst into tears after she realized what she had accomplished.
Topic rose to fame at the Serbian Championships in Krusevac two years ago, when the then 16-year-old cleared 1.96 meters. In doing so, she broke the longstanding national senior high jump record that had stood since 1984.
Right after that, she won two more medals in as many months. She won the European U18 gold medal in Jerusalem with a 1.92-meter jump and the bronze medal at the World U20 Championships in Colombia with a 1.93m effort.
The teenager then moved to the senior circuit and competed at the Munich European Championships, where she took home the bronze medal with a 1.93-meter effort. In doing so, she also became the youngest medallist at the event. Last year, Topic clinched the silver medal (1.97m) at the Memorial Van Damme in Belgium and the bronze medal at the Meeting du Paris. She then finished seventh at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Earlier this year, Angelina won the Diamond League titles in Doha and Marrakech. In the latter, she broke the Serbian national record again as she cleared the 1.98m mark for the first time in her career. To put things in perspective, Spain's Ruth Beitia won the women's high jump gold at the 2016 Rio Games with a 1.97m effort.
Heading into the Paris Olympics, she finished fifth at the Indoor World Championships in Glasgow.
Angelina Topic hails from a family of accomplished Olympians
For Angelina Topic, aiming high in life running in her genes. Both her parents are accomplished Olympians. Her father, Dragutin Topic, is a former European high jump champion and a six-time Olympian. He won the European title as a teenager in 1990 and also holds the Serbian high jump record.
Her mother, Biljana Topic, is a three-time Olympian and also holds the Serbian triple jump record in the women's category. Biljana was a whisker away from making the podium at the 2009 World Athletics Championships.
Speaking to Olympics.com, Angelina Topic said that she draws inspiration from her father and also looks up to her mother.
"My father is my biggest inspiration and he’s my best teacher in life, not just for sports - but also for everything I know, I learned from my parents and I’m really grateful for them. My mom was also an Olympian and she was an amazing top athlete. I’m so happy that I have people who already went through this path. And I think I’m like one step above everyone else because I have so much experience in my mind from them," she said.
Besides the high jump, Angelina Topic also competes in the long jump and the triple jump.
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