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 world-renowned coach Mark Stewart, who also led Steve Hooker to Olympic gold.
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 |
Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set while finishing second to Marie-José Pérec's number-four time at the 1996 Olympics. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.
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.
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.
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Raymond ("Ray") Boyd is a former athlete from Australia, who competed in the Pole vault.
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, and is the first Canadian woman to medal in the pole vault at the Olympic Games.
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.
Ernest John Uy Obiena is a Filipino pole vaulter. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in men's pole vault by the 2023 World Athletics Rankings.
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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