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]
| 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 |
Shirley Barbara de la Hunty AO, MBE, known as Shirley Strickland during her early career, was an Australian athlete. She won more Olympic medals than any other Australian in running sports.
Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva is a Russian former pole vaulter. She is twice an Olympic gold medalist, three-times a World Champion, the current world record holder in the event, and is widely considered the greatest female pole-vaulter of all time. Isinbayeva was banned from the 2016 Rio Olympics after revelations of an extensive state-sponsored doping programme in Russia, thus dashing her hopes of a grand retirement winning the Olympic gold medal. She retired from athletics in August 2016 after being elected to serve an 8-year term on the IOC's Athletes' Commission.
Alix Louise Sauvage, OAM is an Australian paralympic wheelchair racer and leading coach.
Stacy Renée Mikaelson known as Stacy Renée Dragila is a former American pole vaulter. She is an Olympic gold medalist and a multiple-time world champion.
Dmitri Markov is a retired Belarusian-Australian pole vaulter. He is a former world champion and current Oceanian record holder. His gold medal winning jump at the 2001 World Championships made him the third person ever to clear 6.05 metres or 19 feet 10 inches.
Olympic Park Stadium was a multi-purpose outdoor stadium located on Olympic Boulevard in inner Melbourne, Australia. The stadium was built as an athletics training venue for the 1956 Olympics, a short distance from the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which served as the Olympic Stadium. Over the years it was the home of rugby league side, Melbourne Storm and the A-League team, Melbourne Victory; throughout its life the stadium played host to athletics. Olympic Park Stadium was located in Olympic Park, which is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct.
Steven Leslie Hooker OAM is an Australian former pole vaulter and Olympic gold medalist. His personal best, achieved in 2008, is 6.06 m making him the fourth-highest pole vaulter in history, behind Sergey Bubka, Renaud Lavillenie and Armand Duplantis.
Jennifer Lynn Suhr is an American former pole vaulter. She has been an Olympic and World champion, has been ranked #1 in the World, has been the #1 American pole vaulter since 2006, and has won a total of 17 US National Championships. She holds the world indoor pole vault record at 5.03 m. She holds the American women's pole vault record indoors. In 2008, she won the U.S. Olympic trials, setting an American record of 4.92 m and won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics. She won the gold medal at the London Olympics on August 6, 2012. Track & Field News named her American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008.
Yarisley Silva Rodríguez is a Cuban pole vaulter. She won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics – the first Latin American athlete to win an Olympic medal in that event.
Priya Naree Cooper, is an Australian world champion disabled swimmer, winning nine Paralympic gold medals as well as world records and world championships. She competed in the Australian swimming team at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Paralympics with an S8 classification. She was twice the co-captain of the Australian Paralympic team, including at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, and carried the Australian flag at the closing ceremonies for the 1992 and 1996 Summer Paralympics. Cooper has cerebral palsy and spends much of her time in a wheelchair. She attended university, working on a course in health management. After she ended her competitive Paralympic career, she became a commentator, and covered the swimming events at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Athletics is a popular sport in Australia, with around 34,000 athletes, officials and coaches currently registered with the national association.
Vicky Parnov is an Australian athlete who competes in pole vault. She has strong athletic pedigree, being the niece of Tatiana Grigorieva, who won the silver medal for Australia in the women's pole vault at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and the granddaughter of Natalya Pechonkina, who won the bronze medal for the USSR in the women's 400m at the 1968 Summer Olympics. She is coached by her father Alex Parnov, himself a former world class pole vaulter. Her younger sister Liz also competes in Pole Vault and was the Australian national champion in 2010 before she turned 16.
Elizaveta "Liz" Parnov is a Russian-Australian athlete who competed in the pole vault at the Olympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games. She is also the winner of Australian Survivor: Heroes V Villains.
Alysha Eveline Newman is a Canadian track and field athlete who specializes in the pole vault. She is 2024 Summer Olympics bronze medallist and 2018 Commonwealth Games champion, and holds both the Canadian national and Commonwealth Games records in the women's pole vault. Newman represented Canada at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Olympics, where she won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This marked her as the first Canadian woman to medal in pole vaulting at the Olympics. Her vault of 4.85 meters also set a new Canadian national record.
Armand "Mondo" Duplantis is a Swedish-American pole vaulter. Regarded as the greatest pole vaulter of all time, Duplantis is the current world outdoor and indoor record holder. He is a two-time Olympic champion, two-time World outdoor and indoor champion, and the current European champion.
Nina Kennedy is an Australian athlete who holds the national record in the pole vault. She won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, 2023 World Athletics Championships and at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Eliza McCartney is a New Zealand track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault and won the bronze medal in this event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is the current New Zealand and Oceania record holder at 4.94 m, and is the outdoor world junior record holder at 4.64 m. She also won the silver medal at the Summer Universiade in 2015. In 2018, she placed second at the Commonwealth Games.
Zhong Guiqing is a Chinese former track and field athlete who competed in the pole vault. Her best of 4.15 m is a former world record. She was a one-time Chinese national champion.
Caroline Ammel is a former French athlete, who specialized in the pole vault.
Molly Caudery is a British athlete who competes in the pole vault event for England and Great Britain. Caudery is the 2024 World Indoor champion. She was also a silver medalist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and took bronze at the 2024 European Athletics Championships.
Commonwealth Games champions in women's pole vault | |
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World University Games champions in women's pole vault | |
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