She rose “from the Swedish elite to the world elite in two months”.

On February 23, 2025, Swedish high jumper Louise Ekman set a new personal record with a jump of 1.87 meters. It was at the indoor SM and the result brought a silver medal. Gold went to Engla Nilsson, eight years younger, who jumped just as high but had fewer ribs.

On February 24, 2026, Ekman became the third-highest indoor jump of all Swedish high jumpers. At a high jump gala in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, she achieved 1.96.

– I don’t even know if I did it right. But I was incredibly shocked. I didn’t expect that at all.

Only Emma Green and Kajsa Bergqvist have achieved better indoor results in the history of the Swedish high jump. When outdoor results are included, Emma Kinsey also jumped higher. Louise Ekman shares fourth place with Maja Nilsson and Ebba Jungmark.

Kajsa Bergqvist, the captain of the national team A member of the national athletics team and holder of the world indoor record, said the following about the jump on the athletics association’s website:

– From the Swedish elite to the world elite in two months. I’m so incredibly happy for Louise. She is ready for the hall toilet. That will be enough.

“It’s great to hear that, and especially from Kajsa, who was really at the forefront herself,” Ekman said of the national team captain’s comment.

The Indoor World Championships will take place in Poland from March 20th to 22nd.

– When I started the 2026 season in mid-January, I hadn’t thought about the World Indoor Championships at all.

In 2023, Ekman made a change. She and her former coach had worked with Bengt Jönsson, Kajsa Bergqvist’s former coach, for a few years. But this year Jönsson took over 100 percent.

– He found a system that suits me very well. Since then we have gradually increased our training and I have also been fortunate to recover from injuries and illnesses. “I think I missed a total of two sessions during this preparation period in the fall,” says Ekman.

The fact that she changed jobs in the summer of 2025 also contributes to the fact that things are now getting better. This has created flexible working hours, allowing her to prioritize her investments more. But technical details also play a role.

– These last three steps: be skilled at it and really take the plunge. That’s it. The way I’m going about it now, we’ve been trying all along. It may have taken a while to find these details, but it’s incredibly beautiful that they finally fit together.

Already in 2021, when the collaboration While Jönsson had just started, Ekman was talking about exceeding the dream limit of 1.90. The new coach had said there would be no problem and Ekman told Gefle Dagblad that she wanted to overcome the altitude this season.

But it took until January this year for her to reach the milestone. In Lyon she jumped 1.91 and after that it took no more than a month to jump 1.96 in Slovakia.

Ekman feels she truly found the technique, not chance, that led to the two record increases.

– I hope somewhere that this will be my level now. But a lot of things have to be true. The atmosphere in the arena on Tuesday was absolutely magical, so it served its purpose. But that’s probably what I’m aiming for: definitely maintaining a stable level above 1.90.

Now it’s time for the 28-year-old to recharge before the Indoor World Championships, and then this summer’s Outdoor European Championships in Birmingham are in his sights. Qualifying there has been her goal since she missed the 2024 European Championships.

But first she will compete at the Indoor SM in Stockholm on Sunday. Since winning silver at the competition almost exactly a year ago, she has increased her personal best by nine centimeters. In 2023 there was SM gold. Now she wants to take the title back.