Nicola Olyslagers
.jpg) | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 28 December 1996 North Gosford |
| Education | University of Sydney[1] |
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] |
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb)[2] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | High jump |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals |
|
| World finals |
|
| Personal best | |
Medal record | |
Nicola Lauren Olyslagers (née McDermott) (born 28 December 1996) is an Australian high jumper.[3] She won the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics[4][5] and the bronze medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the high jump. Olyslagers is the current high jump Oceanian record holder. She is a world champion of 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.[6]
Career[edit]
Olyslagers competed in the women's high jump at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics.[7] Olyslagers also competed in the women's high jump at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where she achieved a personal best jump of 1.91m and won the bronze medal.[8] On 20 June 2019, Olyslagers jumped a personal best of 1.96m at Mestský Stadion, Ostrava, Czech Republic.[9] Achieving a new personal best of 1.98 m in Sinn, Germany, on 29 August 2020,[10] she rose to second place in the all-time list of Australian women high jumpers.[11][12]
Olyslagers set Australian and Oceanian records with a personal best 2.00 m jump on 18 April 2021.[13][14] She improved her personal best to 2.01 in Stockholm on 4 July 2021 and to 2.02 at the Tokyo Olympics on 7 August 2021, winning silver.[15]
In March 2024, Nikola won a gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.[16]
International competitions[edit]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | World Junior Championships | Eugene, United States | 16th (q) | 1.79 m |
| 2015 | Universiade | Gwangju, South Korea | 4th | 1.80 m |
| 2017 | Universiade | Taipei, Taiwan | 7th | 1.88 m |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 3rd | 1.91 m |
| IAAF Continental Cup | Győr, Hungary | 5th | 1.87 m | |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 15th (q) | 1.90 m |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd | 2.02 m (AR) |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene Oregon, USA | 5th | 1.96 m |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 3rd | 1.99 m |
| 2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, Great Britain | 1st | 1.99 m |
Personal life[edit]
Olyslagers is of maternal Croatian ancestry, hailing from the island of Korčula.[17][18] Olyslagers had always been tall for her age, and says that she was not good at sports in her early years due to a lack of coordination. After she was introduced to athletics at school at age of seven and won the majority of the events from shotput to 200m, her parents got her involved with Little Athletics.[19]
She studied biochemistry at the University of Sydney.[20] Her sports idol is Blanka Vlašić.[18]
Olyslagers is a devout evangelical Christian, and is a member of a Pentecostal denomination that she prefers not to name.[21] She became a Christian while attending a youth camp at the age of 16, and has regularly pointeed to her beliefs as a source of inspiration.[22] [23] [24][25][26] [27]
Olyslagers runs Everlasting Crowns, a ministry dedicated to encouraging and teaching athletes.[28][22]
She married Rhys Olyslagers in April 2022,[29] and since then has competed as Nicola Olyslagers.[30]
References[edit]
- ^ 2017 Universiade bio
- ^ a b "Nicola McDermott". eurosport.com. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "Nicola McDermott". IAAF. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Australia's Nicola McDermott wins silver in Tokyo Olympics women's high jump". ABC News. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Aussie high jumper's stunning silver medal display". Yahoo Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Women's High Jump Results - World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024". Watch Athletics. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "High jump Women". IAAF. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Result - Women's High Jump Final". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- "Commonwealth Games: Australia wins medals in javelin and high jump on final day at Carrara Stadium". ABC News. Retrieved 14 April 2018. - ^ "World Rankings: Women's High Jump", World Athletics.
- ^ "Weekly Results Wrap". Inside Athletics. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "Nicola McDermott continues her rise clearing 1.98m". www.athletics.com.au. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ Gleeson, Michael (3 September 2020). "Athletics Australia coach to walk out, head up UK Athletics". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ https://www.abc.net.au/article/100077512 [dead link]
- ^ "High jumper Nicola McDermott the first Australian woman to clear 2m". TheGuardian.com. 18 April 2021.
- ^ "Nicola MCDERMOTT | Profile".
- ^ "Women's High Jump Results - World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024". Watch Athletics. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "Nicola McDermott – the Australian high jump star with Croatian roots – excited to be competing in Zagreb". Croatia Week. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ a b Božičević, Vedran (7 August 2021). "Srebro dolazi na Korčulu, osvojila ga je djevojka čiji je uzor Blanka! Čudo iz Ukrajine bez zlata..." [The silver is coming to Korčula, it was won by a girl whose idol is Blanka! No gold for the Ukrainian wunderkind...]. Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ "Nicola McDermott". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Train Smarter with Science Podcast: Australian High Jumper, Nicola Mcdermott on Qualifying for Tokyo 2020 and Using Cues on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- ^ "Higher purpose: Faith drives evangelical McDermott to a silver medal". The Age. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ a b Balaranjan, Andrew (29 June 2020). "Live With Nicola McDermott #HighJumper #Encouragement #Faith". YouTube. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "McDermott set to soar to a medal in Tokyo". Perth Now. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Nicola McDermott: The Medal is Silver But The Speech Is Gold". Eternity News. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "The inspirational message Nicola McDermott wrote before winning Olympic silver". 7 News. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ ""High jump is a platform to make Jesus known", says new Australian recordwoman". Evangelical Focus. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Our Olympic High Jumper Going for Gold and God". Eternity News. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Ministry". Nicola McDermott. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ Busy year on several fronts for McDermott, 7 News, 3 April 2022
- ^ Nina Kennedy, Matt Denny and Nicola Olyslagers earn podium finishes at Diamond League meet, ABC News, 6 June 2022
External links[edit]
- Nicola Olyslagers at World Athletics
- Nicola Olyslagers at Australian Athletics Historical Results
- Nicola Olyslagers at Olympedia
World indoor champions in women's high jump | |
|---|---|
|
- 1996 births
- Living people
- Australian female high jumpers
- World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia
- University of Sydney alumni
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- Australian Athletics Championships winners
- Australian biochemists
- Australian evangelicals
- Australian Pentecostals
- Australian people of Croatian descent
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Olympic silver medalists for Australia
- Olympic athletes for Australia
- People from the Central Coast (New South Wales)
- Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- Athletes from New South Wales