Irene Michelle Ekelund (; born 8 March 1997) is a Swedish track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for Sweden. On 14 July 2013 Ekelund won the gold medal at the World Youth Championships in Donetsk when she finished first in the 200 metres final. It was also the first gold medal for Sweden in a sprint event in a global championship ever.
Biography Ekelund was born in Pakistan to a Swedish father and an Angolan mother during her father's United Nations-service in Pakistan. The family later moved back to Sweden and settled in Karlstad where she today lives with her mother and five siblings. She currently studies at the stylist program at her high school (gymnasium) in her hometown, and competes for a club in the southern Swedish city of Malmö, Malmö Allmänna Idrottsförening (MAI). Ekelund has several times stated that she is not very interested in athletics, and that she does not have any real idols in the sport.
Ekelund currently holds the Swedish indoor record in 200 metres. At the Swedish National Indoor Championships in Norrköping 2013, Ekelund won gold medals in the distances 60 metres and 200 metres. Her international debut took place in the indoor-international between Sweden, Finland and Norway in Växjö, Sweden at January 20, 2013. Later in 2013 she also made her international championship-debut when she competed in the World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine. She won the gold medal in 200 metres and finished fifth in the 100 metres final. She became the first Swedish athlete to win an international championship in a sprint event. Thanks to her performance, she was awarded "Newcomer of the Year" at the Swedish Sports Award.
Achievements 2013World Youth ChampionshipsDonetsk, Ukraine100 m11.62200 m22.92 CR2014World Junior ChampionshipsEugene, United States100 m11.61200 m22.97European ChampionshipsZürich, Switzerland (sf)200 m23.264 × 100 m relay44.362015European Indoor ChampionshipsPrague, Czech Republic19th (sf)60 m7.372019European Indoor ChampionshipsGlasgow, United Kingdom19th (sf)60 m7.41
Personal bests TrackEventTimeVenueDate Note Outdoor100 m11.35Kil, Sweden8 June 2013NJR200 m22.92Donetsk, Ukraine14 July 2013NJR Indoor60 m7.26Sätra, Sweden21 February 2015NJR200 m23.15Norrköping, Sweden17 February 2013NR
References
External links