Vicky Parnov (born 24 October 1990 in Moscow, Soviet Union) 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.
Vicky moved to Australia with her family in 1996, at the age of six, and was inspired to take up pole vaulting at the age of nine, after watching her aunt win a silver medal in the event at the Sydney Olympics.[1] Her first international experience came at the age of 14, when she represented Australia at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Marrakesh, placing fourth. At the following edition of the championships, the 2007 World Youths, held in Ostrava, she won gold in the pole vault with a jump of 4.35m.[2] She has also competed in two editions of the World Junior Championships, claiming the bronze medal in 2006, and represented Australia at open level during the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. When she competed in the women's pole vault at the 2007 World Championships, she became the youngest athlete to ever represent Australia at World Championship level, aged 16 years and 305 days.[3]
In 2007, she was selected Asics Junior Athlete of the Year.[4]
Her personal best of 4.40 metres, achieved in June 2007 at Saulheim, was the Australian under-20 record until it was tied by her sister in April 2010 then surpassed in February 2012.[5]
Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva is a Russian former pole vaulter. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a three-time World Champion, the 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 program in Russia, thus dashing her hopes of a grand retirement after 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.
Svetlana Yevgenyevna Feofanova is a Russian pole vaulter.
Silke Spiegelburg is a German pole vaulter. She is the younger sister of Richard Spiegelburg. She represented Germany at the Summer Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012, as well as having competed at the World Championships in Athletics. She is a European silver medallist in the event both indoors and outdoors.
Dani Stevens is a retired Australian discus thrower who in 2009 became the youngest ever female world champion in the event. She is the current national and Oceanian record holder. Stevens qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and threw 58.77m in the Women's dicus throw. This was not a sufficient distance to qualify her for the final.
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.
Levern Donaline Spencer, SLMM is a Saint Lucian retired athlete and high jumper. Spencer was a four-time Olympian for Saint Lucia and competed in eight World Championships. She was also a gold medalist at both the Commonwealth Games and Pan-American Games.
Elizaveta Ryzih is a German pole vault athlete. Two times an Olympian, she was 6th in London and 10th in Rio Olympic games. She was described by one athletics commentator as a "tall, fast and athletic" pole vaulter, and she has seen good success in European Championships as well as being a constant presence in the world yearly rankings of pole vaulters, placing among the top 10 vaulters in recent years.
Athletics is a popular sport in Australia, with around 34,000 athletes, officials and coaches currently registered with the national association.
Keila da Silva Costa is a Brazilian long jumper and triple jumper. She has competed in three Olympic Games, 2004, 2008 and 2012, and has reached the final round both there and in World Championships and World Indoor Championships. She is the South American record holder in triple jump with 14.58 metres, and has 6.88 metres in the long jump. Both results were achieved in 2007.
Asami Chiba, or Tanno, is a Japanese sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She is the Japanese record holder in the event, and has also broken the national record in the 4×400 metres relay on multiple occasions. She is a member of Natureal Athlete Club in Japan and is coached by Kazuhisa Kawamoto.
Angelica Therese Bengtsson is a Swedish track and field athlete who specialises in the pole vault. She became the first pole vault winner at the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore, 2010.
Tina Šutej is a Slovenian pole vaulter. She won bronze medals at the 2022 World Indoor Championships and 2022 European Championships. Šutej earned a silver at the 2021 European Indoor Championships and again in 2023.
Lacy Janson is an American track and field athlete who specialized in the pole vault. She was the 2010 USA indoor champion in the event and represented her country at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships. At college level, she won both an outdoor and an indoor NCAA title for Florida State University.
Holly Bethan Bradshaw is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the pole vault. She is the current British record holder in the event indoors and outdoors, with clearances of 4.87 metres and 4.90 metres. Bradshaw won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She also won bronze at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, gold at the 2013 European Indoor Championships, bronze at the 2018 European Championships, and silver at the 2019 European Indoor Championships. She also won at the 2018 Athletics World Cup. Coached by Scott Simpson, she has been consistently ranked among the world's best and has been ranked in the world top ten on the Track and Field News merit rankings four times.
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.
Katerina Stefanidi is a Greek pole vaulter. She won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and has also competed at the 2012 London and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Stefanidi was the 2017 World champion and earned bronze at the 2019 World Championships. At the European Athletics Championships, she won two gold medals and two silvers. Indoors, she is a two-time World Indoor bronze medallist from 2016 and 2018, was the 2017 European Indoor champion and earned silver at the 2015 European Indoor Championships.
Hanna Victorivna Knyazyeva-Minenko is a former Ukrainian and a current Israeli triple jumper and long jumper.
Nina Kennedy is an Australian athlete who holds the national record in the pole vault. She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won gold in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
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.
Imogen Ayris is a New Zealand athlete who competes in the pole vault. She won the bronze medal in the pole vault representing her country at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
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