Katie Nageotte, a native of Cleveland and alumni of Olmsted Falls and Ashland University, won the women’s pole vault gold on Thursday morning at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo after getting off to a slow start.
With her successful jump of 4.9 metres (16.07 feet), Nageotte took first place. Only on her second try at the height did she successfully vault.
Katie Nageotte Surprises With Pole Vault Gold For U.S.
Take a look at Nageotte’s winning vault below. She became only the third American woman in Olympic history to win a gold medal in the pole vault.
But at the first height of 4.5 metres, Nageotte immediately had trouble. After failing to reach the bar on her first two efforts, she succeeded on her third and last attempt. She needed only two tries to clear 4.7 metres, and on her first try she also vaulted over 4.8 and 4.85 metres.
As one of just four competitors, Nageotte managed to leap over a bar set at 4.7 metres.
Silver went to Anzhelika Sidorova of Russia, and bronze to Britain’s Holly Bradshaw. In fourth place and the only other competitor to jump above 4.7 metres was Greece’s defending gold medalist Katerina Stefandi.
As Nageotte was warming up, she noticed a tightness in her leg. At the first height of the evening, 4.5 metres, she missed twice in a row to start the evening.
She added in a post-event interview, as reported by The Associated Press, “I know my family came up really early to watch and I would have felt very horrible if I’d forced them get up at 6 in the morning to watch me no-height.” Indeed, I did had that thought.
She was about to be eliminated when, on her third attempt, she successfully completed the height requirement.
After Sidorova failed to make the 4.9 bar, Nageotte sprinted into the bleachers to get applause from spectators and to congratulate her fellow athletes. She prepared to try for a new American record by taping up the pole and setting the bar at 5.01.
She started out running but stopped short of the runway. In light of her recent experiences, she was unable to concentrate.
She Referred to “The Emotion of Winning” as the Reason.
For the year, Nageotte’s best distance was 4.95 metres. She needed only one attempt at the 4.55-meter vault to qualify for the final on Thursday morning.
Earlier this summer, Nageotte told cleveland.com, “Going to the Olympics was always something I desired; I just didn’t know how it would happen.”
Her attention was undivided during the Summer Olympics when she was a kid. She had a strong affinity for high-energy and strength-based sports. She thought that since she did gymnastics, she would be a gymnast in the Olympics.
Last Words
In seventh grade, while attending Olmsted Falls Middle School, Nageotte decided to try pole vaulting. After joining the middle school track team and going to watch the high school pole vaulters, she was hooked on the sport and committed herself to becoming a better athlete.
She begged and pleaded with her high school coach until finally, after hearing enough, he agreed to let her give it a shot. A good decision, as it turned out.
She was a top golfer and diver in high school, but she also became the OHSAA Division I 2009 girls state champion in the pole vault as a senior at Olmsted Falls. Thanks for reading our article Katie Nageotte Surprises With Pole Vault Gold For U.S.
