Stuart Weir, the senior creator for Europe for RunBlogRun, wrote this piece with Katie Moon, the 2021 Olympic champion, the 2024 Olympic silver medalist, and the 2022 and 2023 International Champion. Moon is one in all our most well liked RunBlogRun athletes and continues to steer American girls’s pole vaulting.
Katie Moon remembers the 2024 Olympic pole vault ultimate
The qualifying festival for the ladies’s pole vault on the Paris Olympics resulted in some controversy. The foundations have been that the highest 12 would qualify for the overall. 11 athletes cleared at 4:55, and an extra 15 have been a hit at 4:40, however all had 3 screw ups at 4:55. 9 of the 15 had no screw ups sooner than 4:55, whilst 6 had had an previous failure.
The officers looked as if it would have 3 choices: permit simply the 11 who had cleared 4:55 to growth to the overall, have some roughly jump-off to permit one of the most 9 who had had no screw ups sooner than 4:55 to take twelfth position, or—and this used to be what they opted for—permit all 9 to growth to the overall. After all, that supposed there could be 20 athletes leaping within the ultimate—in fact 19, as one withdrew.
A hit athletes be aware of what issues and get on with it. I’m no longer certain St Francis of Assisi had the structure of the ladies’s pole vault in thoughts when he prayed, “Lord help me to change what I can change, to accept what I cannot change and to know the difference” however his phrases have been very related to the 2024 Olympic pole vault. Kate Moon commented, “I didn’t necessarily agree with taking that many people, but once you know the circumstances, you can mentally prepare for it. And that’s just what I did, but it is not ideal. The pole vault is an incredibly long competition – as it is with 12 women, without adding another nine. I don’t know what the correct answer was. I think it probably was to take eleven of us instead of requiring 12. Or if they have to have 12, then some form of a tiebreaker jumps off, but I think it was ultimately the wrong choice.
Katie Moon wins PV at USATF Indoors 2023. The photo was taken by Kevin Morris; all rights reserved.
It was way too long, and I mean, we saw the standards break once it reached a certain point. Unfortunately, it hindered what could have been an even better pole vault competition. All three of us could have jumped higher. I don’t know that the results would have finished out any differently regarding medal placement, but it hindered what could have been an even better competition. “
In a recent interview, Mondo Duplantis said that he found championship competitions much more challenging than, say, a Diamond League – not because of the competition but because of the long waiting time between jumps. Going back to the Paris women’s Olympic final, when Katie Moon or one of the other top vaulters cleared the bar the first time, they had to wait while 18 other athletes vaulted before it was their turn again. In the second round, with the bar at 4:60, eight athletes managed first-time clearances but then had to wait for 37 vaults before completing that round, and 13 athletes moved on to 4:70.
Katie Moon, photo by Getty Images for World Athletics
But sometimes, clouds have a silver lining, and for once, the slow competition suited Katie. She explains: “I think the waiting worked to my advantage. I woke up that morning feeling very sick, so I was really worried. I did not have a big energy tank, so I focused on making every jump count. Then, the ability to sit down, regroup, and relax helped. Thankfully, my body felt sharp, and I was still executing well, but I knew I did not have a battery. So it did help me in this instance, but in any other normal circumstance, I would have thought, ‘That’s way too many’”.
The contest improved with Katie clearing 4:40, 4:60, 4:70, and four:80 on her first strive after which 4:85 on the second one strive. Simplest Nina Kennedy cleared 4:90 and used to be the Olympic Champion. Katie’s 4:85 used to be sufficient to complete 2d forward of Alysha Neuman on countback.
Katie Moon, International Championships 2023, photograph via International Athletics
At the night time of the overall, I take note texting Katie to mention, “Well done or Bad luck.” She spoke back that she used to be delighted with silver and had no regrets. 3 months after the Olympics, she defined: “I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun at a competition before, just everything about it. I always say that Tokyo was very special, but Paris was incredible in every way; the stadium’s crowd and energy were unbelievable. And then having my family and friends there was just awesome. Even though my year had not been going well, my practices in the last couple weeks before Paris had been excellent, and I finally felt like I could put together a good meet; that was all I wanted to do. Medals aside, obviously, we want to win a medal. I just wanted to leave that competition feeling like I had finally had a meeting where I jumped well. And so I did that and claimed a medal with my family there; it was perfect. Earning a medal or walking away from any championship with any color of hardware is a good day because anything can happen. Everybody shows up at championships, especially the Olympics, so you must be on – to get any color medal. And I’m just grateful that I did”.
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