Emma George

Emma George (born 1 November 1974 ^[1] in Beechworth, Victoria) is a former Australian pole vaulter. She held the world record from 30 November 1995 until 26 May 2000, setting a new record on twelve occasions, before being passed by Stacy Dragila. She was previously a trapeze artist in The Flying Fruit Fly Circus. ^{[2] [3]} She was coached by Mark Stewart, who also led Steve Hooker to Olympic gold^{[ citation needed ]}.

George competed in and won the Gladiator Individual Sports Athletes Challenge in 1995.

George suffered a fall while training for the 1999 Seville Championships. She then underwent a number of operations on her back before finally announcing her retirement in 2003. ^[4]

World records

• 4.25 m - Melbourne, Australia 30 November 1995
• 4.28 m - Perth, Western Australia 17 December 1995
• 4.30 m - Perth, Western Australia 28 January 1996
• 4.41 m - Perth, Australia 28 January 1996
• 4.42 m - Reims, France 29 June 1996
• 4.45 m - Sapporo, Japan 14 July 1996
• 4.50 m - Melbourne, Western Australia 8 February 1997
• 4.55 m - Melbourne, Australia 20 February 1997
• 4.57 m - North Shore City, New Zealand 21 February 1998
• 4.58 m - South Melbourne, Australia 14 March 1998
• 4.59 m - Brisbane, Australia 21 March 1998
• 4.60 m - Sydney, Australia 20 February 1999

Achievements

Representing   Australia

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
1997	World Indoor Championships	Paris, France	2nd	4.35 m
	Universiade	Catania, Italy	1st	4.40 m
1998	Goodwill Games	Uniondale, United States	2nd	4.30 m
	Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	1st	4.20 m
1999	World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	6th	4.35 m
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	14th	4.15 m
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	15th (q)	4.25 m

References

1. "Emma GEORGE – Athlete Profile". World Athletics . Retrieved 1 January 2023.
2. Turnbull, Simon (26 March 2023). "The year the women's pole vault took flight". World Athletics . Retrieved 26 March 2023.
3. "Sevilla 99 Preview: Emma versus all the Women's Pole Vault".
4. "Pole-vault pioneer George retires at 29". 2 December 2003.

External links

• Emma George at World Athletics
• Emma George at Australian Athletics Historical Results
• Emma George at the Australian Olympic Committee
• Emma George at Olympedia
• Emma George at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
• Profile at Athletics Australia
• Brief biography at her personal website

Records
Preceded by Sun Caiyun	Women's Pole Vault World Record Holder 30 November 1995 – 26 May 2000	Succeeded by Stacy Dragila