Jan Niklas Patrik Sjöberg (; born 5 January 1965) is a Swedish former high jumper. He broke the world record with in Stockholm on 30 June 1987. This mark is still the European record and ranks him third on the world all-time list behind Javier Sotomayor and Mutaz Essa Barshim. He is also a former two-time world indoor record holder with marks of 2.38 m (1985) and 2.41 m (1987). He is the 1987 World Champion and a three-time Olympic medallist.
Early life Sjöberg was born in Gothenburg, Västra Götaland, and was a member of the Örgryte IS club.
Career Sjöberg has a gold medal from the World Championships in Rome 1987 and has three Olympic medals: silver medals from Los Angeles 1984 and Barcelona 1992, and a bronze medal from Seoul 1988. Sjöberg is the only high jumper to have won medals in more than two Olympic Games. He won the 1985 World Indoor Games, is a four-time European Indoor champion and twice won the World Cup title.
Sjöberg received the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1985. He has inspired many later Swedish high jumpers, most notably Kajsa Bergqvist, Linus Thörnblad, Staffan Strand, and Stefan Holm. His world record of 2.42 m was broken 15 months later, when, on the eve of the Seoul Summer Olympics, Javier Sotomayor jumped 2.43 m in September 1988 at a meet in Spain.
Sjöberg competed as a celebrity dancer in Let's Dance 2014, finishing fourth.
Sjöberg, who is a survivor of child sexual abuse, is co-founder of the website Dumpen.se, a website that exposes pedophiles and discusses issues relating to child grooming and sexual abuse.
Personal life In his 2011 autobiography, Sjöberg revealed that he had been sexually molested as a child by his coach Viljo Nousiainen, a prominent Swedish athletics coach.
He has a daughter, Isabelle.
Competition record Representing 1981European Junior Championships Utrecht, Netherlands8th2.16 m1982European Indoor Championships Milan, Italy10th2.22 m1983European Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary –NMEuropean Junior Championships Schwechat, Austria3rd2.21 mWorld Championships Helsinki, Finland11th2.23 m1984European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden7th2.24 mOlympic Games Los Angeles, United States2nd2.33 m1985World Indoor Games Paris, France1st2.32 mEuropean Indoor Championships Piraeus, Greece1st2.35 mWorld Cup Canberra, Australia1st2.31 m11986European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain6th2.24 mEuropean Championships Stuttgart, West Germany6th2.25 m1987European Indoor Championships Liévin, France1st2.38 mWorld Indoor Championships Indianapolis, United States1st (q)2.24 m2World Championships Rome, Italy1st2.38 m1988European Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary1st2.39 mOlympic Games Seoul, South Korea3rd2.36 m1989World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary3rd2.35 mWorld Cup Barcelona, Spain1st2.34 m11991World Indoor Championships Seville, Spain13th2.24 mWorld Championships Tokyo, Japan7th2.31 m1992European Indoor Championships Genoa, Italy1st2.38 mOlympic Games Barcelona, Spain2nd2.34 m1993World Indoor Championships Toronto, Canada2nd2.39 m1995World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden6th2.32 m 1Representing Europe 2No mark in the final
References
Further reading
External links
Men's high jump records – IAAF