Who Is Ivana Španović

Ivana Španović (born 10 May 1990 in Zrenjanin) is a Serbian athlete who competes in the long jump and triple jump. She is the 2023 outdoor world champion, a two-time World Indoor champion and the bronze medallist at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. She is regarded as one of the most successful sportswomen in Serbian history.

Over a career spanning almost two decades, she has won 15 medals at the biggest senior competitions: eight gold, two silver and five bronze. Her indoor jump of 7.24 metres from 2017 is the Serbian record and the third-best result of all time in that discipline.

She competes for AK Vojvodina in Novi Sad and is coached by Goran Obradović. She is also known for her longevity, as she began competing in the triple jump after the age of 35. What follows is her path from a club in Zrenjanin to the top of the world.

Early Life and Childhood

Ivana was born on 10 May 1990 in Zrenjanin, then part of the SFR Yugoslavia. She began athletics in 1997 at AK Proleter in Zrenjanin, and her talent showed very early.

She joined AK Vojvodina in Novi Sad in 2007, the year she won her first major international medal. She has lived and trained in Novi Sad ever since. At a reception hosted by Mayor Miloš Vučević in 2015, she said the city offers ideal conditions for both the summer and winter seasons.

She began working with coach Goran Obradović in 2010, and they still work together today. Under his guidance, she built a long jump technique that she herself describes as almost perfect.

Education

Details of Ivana Španović’s formal schooling are not publicly available. It is known that in October 2021 she posted a photo of a personal trainer diploma, which she earned with the help of the Vojvodina Recreation and Fitness Association.

With the photo, she wrote that the new diploma made her feel even closer to her other passion. In doing so, she showed that her interests are not limited to the athletics track.

Early Career

She achieved her first international results in the younger age categories. At the 2005 World Youth Championships in Marrakesh she did not get past qualification, and in 2006 she finished seventh at the World Junior Championships in Beijing.

In 2007 she won silver at the World Youth Championships in Ostrava with a jump of 6.41 metres. At the European Youth Olympic Festival in Belgrade, she took silver in the long jump and bronze in the 4×100 metres relay.

The year 2008 brought her the title of world junior champion in Bydgoszcz with a jump of 6.61 metres. That same year she competed at the Beijing Olympics, but did not pass qualification: she jumped 6.30 metres and placed 30th. She was named Serbia’s best young sportswoman of 2008.

In 2009 she won gold at the Universiade in Belgrade with 6.64 metres. At the European Junior Championships in Novi Sad she took silver with 6.71 metres, a new Serbian junior record.

At the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona she finished eighth with 6.60 metres, and in 2011 she won silver at the European Under-23 Championships in Ostrava. She went out in qualification at the 2012 European Championships in Helsinki.

Rise to Prominence

Her first major breakthrough came at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She reached the final and, with a jump of 6.35 metres, finished eighth according to official records, although some sources list tenth place (sources differ).

The following year she showed her versatility. In January 2013 she set Serbia’s indoor pentathlon record with 4,240 points, and at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg she finished fifth with 6.68 metres.

The real turning point came in August 2013 at the World Championships in Moscow. She won the bronze medal with a jump of 6.82 metres, a new national record and the first medal for Serbia at the outdoor World Championships in athletics. The Olympic Committee of Serbia named her sportswoman of the year for it.

In 2014 she won bronze at the World Indoor Championships in Sopot (6.77), silver at the European Championships in Zurich (6.81) and silver at the Continental Cup in Marrakesh. At a Diamond League meeting in Eugene she improved her outdoor personal best to 6.88 metres and finished the season second in the overall Diamond League standings.

She won her first senior gold in 2015 at the European Indoor Championships in Prague, with a national record of 6.98 metres. At the end of January that year she had also set Serbia’s indoor record in the 60 metres with 7.31 seconds. At the World Championships in Beijing she won her second bronze with a new record of 7.01 metres, and the Olympic Committee of Serbia chose her as sportswoman of the year for the second time.

Olympic Bronze in Rio 2016

The year 2016 was one of the key moments of her career. At the World Indoor Championships in Portland she won silver and improved the national record twice, first to 7.00 and then to 7.07 metres. She led almost the entire competition, but lost the gold in the final round, when American Brittney Reese jumped 7.22 metres.

Outdoors, she then won gold at the European Championships in Amsterdam with 6.94 metres. The peak of the season came in Rio de Janeiro, where a jump of 7.08 metres, a new Serbian outdoor record, earned her the bronze medal. It was Serbia’s first Olympic athletics medal in 60 years.

She rounded off the season by winning the overall Diamond League standings, having won five of the seven meetings, a record in the long jump. At the Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb she set a meeting record of 6.96 metres, and on 11 September at a meeting in Belgrade she jumped 7.10 metres. The Assembly of the City of Novi Sad awarded her the City’s February Award for 2016.

Gold Medals, Records and the Fight Against Injuries

At the 2017 European Indoor Championships in Belgrade, she defended her Prague title. In qualification she jumped 7.03 metres, the best result ever in an indoor qualifying round, and in the final she jumped 7.16 and 7.24 metres. The 7.24 metres placed her third on the all-time indoor long jump list. It was also the second-best jump in the history of the European Indoor Championships, behind Germany’s Heike Drechsler, who jumped 7.30 metres in 1988.

At the World Championships in London that same year she missed out on a medal. With her last jump it appeared she had passed 7.02 metres, the mark held by leader Brittney Reese, but 6.91 was recorded. The Serbian delegation lodged an appeal, arguing that the mark in the sand closest to the board had been made by the bib number on her back, but the appeal was rejected. She finished fourth with 6.96 metres, behind Reese (7.02), Darya Klishina (7.00) and Tianna Bartoletta (6.97). After the championships she won another Diamond League trophy.

In 2018 she won her first world title. At the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham she won with a jump of 6.96 metres, ahead of Reese (6.89) and Moguenara (6.85), becoming the first Serbian athlete to win a senior world gold medal. She also won gold at the Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, with a Games record of 6.99 metres. At the European Championships in Berlin she had the best result in qualification (6.84), but an Achilles tendon injury forced her to withdraw from the final.

In 2019 she won gold at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow with 6.99 metres, completing three consecutive titles at the event (2015, 2017, 2019). Injuries during the summer forced her to miss the World Championships in Doha.

The year 2020 was marked by a fractured metatarsal bone in June, so she ended her season early. The following year, a leg injury kept her out of the European Indoor Championships in Toruń.

Comeback and World Gold in Budapest

Outdoors in 2021, she returned stronger than ever. She won Diamond League meetings in Florence and Stockholm, and at the Tokyo Olympics she had the best qualifying result (7.00 metres). In the final she jumped 6.91 metres and finished fourth. She then won in Lausanne, and at the Diamond League final in Zurich, with 6.96 metres, she took her third trophy and ended the season ranked first in the world.

In 2022 she competed under the surname Vuleta. At the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, in front of a home crowd, she won with a jump of 7.06 metres, the best result of the indoor season. At the World Championships in Eugene she finished seventh with 6.84 metres, but she rescued the season at the European Championships in Munich. With her very first jump she passed 7.06 metres and won gold, the first jump over seven metres at a European Championships in the 21st century.

She rounded off the season with a fourth Diamond League trophy in Zurich (6.97 metres), and the Olympic Committee of Serbia named her sportswoman of the year for the third time.

The year 2023 brought the fulfilment of a long-held dream. At the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul she won bronze with 6.91 metres, and in August she won the World Championships in Budapest with a jump of 7.14 metres, a new Serbian outdoor record. It was Serbia’s first gold at the outdoor World Championships. With it, she completed the full set of European and world titles, indoors and outdoors.

She won her fifth Diamond League trophy in Eugene with 6.85 metres, having earlier also won the meeting in Xiamen. In September 2023 she announced that she would end her career after the Paris Olympics. She was named sportswoman of the year for the fourth time.

The 2024 Olympic season was a difficult one. Because of an Achilles tendon injury she competed only twice before Paris, and at the Games her 6.51 metres, just short of the 6.59 needed for automatic qualification, left her out of the final in 16th place in qualification.

Switch to the Triple Jump

Instead of ending her career, Ivana Španović opened a new chapter in 2025 and began competing in the triple jump. In July she won gold at the Balkan Championships in Volos with 14.12 metres, and on 2 August she won the Serbian Championships in Kraljevo with 14.43 metres. World Athletics lists that result as not legal, while Serbian media report it as a personal best (sources differ).

In August 2025 she announced that she would not defend her long jump title in Tokyo and would compete only in the triple jump. At the World Championships in Tokyo she went out in qualification with 13.82 metres, in a field that also included world record holder Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela.

She opened the 2026 season on 28 January at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting with a Serbian indoor record of 14.41 metres. At the World Indoor Championships in Toruń she finished sixth with 14.35 metres, the best among the Europeans. At the Serbian Championships she won with 14.08 metres, ahead of Aleksandrija Mitrović, who jumped 13.73.

At the European Championships in Birmingham in August 2026 she finished eighth with 14.06 metres. At the Mediterranean Games in Taranto she won silver with a jump of 14.09 metres, while her teammate Aleksandrija Mitrović took bronze. Before the championships she said she is not thinking about retirement and that, although she is the oldest in age, she is practically the youngest in terms of experience in the triple jump.

Greatest Achievements

• Olympic Games: bronze in Rio 2016 (7.08 m).
• Outdoor World Championships: gold in Budapest 2023 (7.14 m), bronze in Moscow 2013 (6.82 m) and Beijing 2015 (7.01 m).
• World Indoor Championships: gold in Birmingham 2018 (6.96 m) and Belgrade 2022 (7.06 m), silver in Portland 2016 (7.07 m), bronze in Sopot 2014 (6.77 m).
• Outdoor European Championships: gold in Amsterdam 2016 (6.94 m) and Munich 2022 (7.06 m), silver in Zurich 2014 (6.81 m).
• European Indoor Championships: gold in Prague 2015 (6.98 m), Belgrade 2017 (7.24 m) and Glasgow 2019 (6.99 m), bronze in Istanbul 2023 (6.91 m).
• Diamond League: five long jump trophies (2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023).
• Other: gold at the 2018 Mediterranean Games in the long jump, silver at the 2026 Mediterranean Games in the triple jump, gold at the 2009 Universiade and at the 2008 World Junior Championships.

Personal Life

Ivana Španović lives in Novi Sad. In September 2021 she married fitness nutritionist Marko Vuleta and took his surname, so until the end of 2023 she competed as Ivana Vuleta.

In December 2023 the public learned that the couple was divorcing. Ivana then said that she had always tried to keep her private life private, and she asked for her privacy to be respected. On social media, she returned to her maiden name, Španović.

Outside sport, in 2022 she launched her own swimwear brand, Hero Swim.

Interesting Facts

• She was the first Serbian track and field athlete to win a medal at the outdoor World Championships (Moscow 2013).
• She has 19 Diamond League meeting victories, a record among female long jumpers.
• She has set 32 senior Serbian records: 13 outdoors and 19 indoors.
• Her Serbian records also cover other events: 60 metres indoors (7.31), indoor pentathlon (4,240 points) and indoor triple jump (14.41 m).
• Her indoor jump of 7.24 metres is also the second-best in the history of the European Indoor Championships.
• Her Olympic bronze in Rio was Serbia’s first Olympic athletics medal in 60 years.

Awards and Honors

• Sportswoman of the Year of the Olympic Committee of Serbia: 2013, 2015, 2022 and 2023.
• Serbia’s best young sportswoman for 2008.
• Order of Karađorđe’s Star, third class, presented to her by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić on Statehood Day in 2017.
• February Award of the City of Novi Sad for 2016.
• A decoration in Republika Srpska.

Legacy and Influence

Ivana Španović is the first Serbian athlete to win a medal at a world championships, a senior world gold indoors and a world gold outdoors. Her medals and records gave Serbian athletics an international visibility it did not have before, and put Novi Sad and AK Vojvodina on the athletics map of the world.

Beyond results, her career matters for its length and adaptability. After almost two decades in the long jump, she decided to start over in the triple jump, alongside younger national team teammates such as Aleksandrija Mitrović. In doing so, she showed that elite sport can continue after injuries, disappointments and an announced end of career.

Biography – Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Ivana Španović?

Ivana Španović is a Serbian athlete, the 2023 long jump world champion and the bronze medallist at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. She now also competes in the triple jump.

When and where was Ivana Španović born?

She was born on 10 May 1990 in Zrenjanin, then part of the SFR Yugoslavia.

How many medals has Ivana Španović won?

At the biggest senior competitions she has won 15 medals: eight gold, two silver and five bronze. Seven are from the European Championships, seven from the World Championships and one from the Olympic Games.

What is Ivana Španović’s personal best in the long jump?

Her indoor best is 7.24 metres (Belgrade, 2017) and her outdoor best is 7.14 metres (Budapest, 2023). Both are Serbian records.

Has Ivana Španović won an Olympic medal?

Yes. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro she won the bronze medal with a jump of 7.08 metres. She also finished fourth in Tokyo in 2021.

Who is Ivana Španović’s coach?

Her coach is Goran Obradović, with whom she has worked since 2010.

Why did Ivana Španović switch to the triple jump?

After the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, she decided to dedicate herself to a new discipline. She said she had waited ten years for the green light to compete in the triple jump. She set her indoor record of 14.41 metres in January 2026.

Why did Ivana Španović once use the surname Vuleta?

She took the surname Vuleta after her marriage in September 2021. After the divorce, which became public in December 2023, she returned to her maiden name, Španović.

Which club does Ivana Španović compete for?

She competes for AK Vojvodina in Novi Sad, of which she has been a member since 2007.

Conclusion

Ivana Španović is one of the most successful Serbian sportswomen of all time. From her first steps in Zrenjanin to world gold in Budapest, she has won 15 major medals, set 32 national records and won the Diamond League five times.

Her career has been marked by injuries and setbacks, such as London 2017 and Paris 2024, but also by an ability to come back each time. Her switch to the triple jump after the age of 35 best shows why Ivana Španović has remained one of the most recognizable names in Serbian sport.