‘Women’s sports should be protected,’ two-time high jump world champion Blanka Vlasic on IOC’s gender policy
The International Olympic Committee’s new policy, which mandates that eligibility for any female category is limited to biological females, has sparked debate.
Eligibility for the female category for all disciplines of an IOC event, including the Olympic Games, will be determined by SRY gene screening.
Two-time high jump world championship gold medallist Blanka Vlasic sees the logic behind protecting women’s sport.
“In sport, there should be strict policies. Things should be clear. Everybody competing should compete under the same standards, and have the same conditions. Women’s sport should be protected in that way,” Blanka said here on Thursday.
A highly decorated athlete, Blanka is in the city as the international event ambassador of the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2026.
Apart from the world championships, the Croatian has two world indoor championship golds, three world athletics final titles and two Olympic medals (2008 Beijing silver and 2016 Rio bronze) to her name.
Her personal best of 2.08m, set at the 2009 Zagreb Grand Prix, is third best in women’s high jump history.
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The 42-year-old takes pride in having a clean record, bereft of doping stains.
“I’m proud to have been part of the generation that jumped really, really high, and under the motto – ‘We jump clean’,” Blanka, who towers over the room at 6’4”, said.
To take unethical shortcuts to attain a one-off success never appealed to Blanka.
“If you achieve success with shortcuts, then your success will probably be just one spark. But in sports, do you remember someone who won just one time? Or do you remember a champion who was present for 10 years, with his or her ups and downs? I was consistent for so many years in a highly competitive sport – that was the goal,” she said.
“In track and field, it is very important to maintain your level for a long period of time. That is what is valued. Even if you are not Olympic gold medallist or world champion, if you are consistently in the top 10 in the world for more than 10 years, you could say that you had a great career,” Blanka said.
Published on Apr 23, 2026