2004 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Pole Vault (Women)

sport	athletics
discipline	Pole vault
gender	Women
Attendees	35 athletes from 23 countries
Competition location	Athens Olympic Stadium
Competition phase	August 21, 2004 (qualification) August 24, 2004 (final)
Medalists Jelena Isinbayeva ( RUS )   Svetlana Feofanowa ( RUS )   Anna Rogowska ( POL )

The women's pole vault at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens was held on August 21 and 24, 2004 in the Athens Olympic Stadium. 35 athletes took part.

The Russian Jelena Issinbajewa became the Olympic champion . She won in front of her compatriot Svetlana Feofanowa and the Polish Anna Rogowska .

With Silke Spiegelburg , Carolin Hingst and Floé Kühnert , three Germans started. Hingst and Kühnert were eliminated in qualification, Spiegelburg reached the final and finished thirteenth.
The Swiss Nadine Rohr failed in the qualification.
Athletes from Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.

Current titleholders

Olympic champion 2000	Stacy Dragila ( USA )	4.60 m	Sydney 2000
World Champion 2003	Svetlana Feofanova ( Russia )	4.75 m	Paris 2003
European Champion 2002		4.60 m	Munich 2002
Pan American Champion 2003	Melissa Mueller ( USA )	4.40 m	Santo Domingo 2003
Central America and Caribbean Champion 2003	not held as a championship competition		St. George’s 2003
South American Champion 2003	Alejandra García ( Argentina )	4.20 m	Barquisimeto 2003
Asian Champion 2003	Wu Sha ( People's Republic of China )	4.20 m	Manila 2003
African champion 2004	Syrine Balti ( Tunisia )	4.00 m	Brazzaville 2004
Oceania Champion 2002	Sophie Chiet ( New Zealand )	3.61 m	Christchurch 2002

Existing records

World record	4.90 m	Jelena Isinbayeva ( Russia )	London , UK	July 30, 2000
Olympic record	4.60 m	Stacy Dragila ( USA )	Sydney final , Australia	September 25, 2000

Remarks:

• All times are based on Athens local time ( UTC + 2 ).
• All heights are given in meters (m).

qualification

August 21, 2004, 7:00 p.m.

The qualification was carried out in two groups. The qualification height for the direct entry into the final was 4.45 m. Since only three jumpers mastered this height (highlighted in light blue), the final field was filled with the next placed athletes. There are actually twelve participants in the final. Finally, all athletes who had jumped 4.40 m were admitted. Fifteen female pole vaulters were eligible for the final three days later.

Group A

space	Surname	nation	3.80	4.00	4.15	4.30	4.40	4.45	height	annotation
1	Monika Pyrek	Poland	-	-	O	O	x-	O	4.45
2	Pavla Hamáčková	Czech Republic	-	-	O	xxo	-	x o	4.45
3	Svetlana Feofanova	Russia	-	-	-	-	O	-	4.40
4th	Naroa Agirre	Spain	-	O	xo	O	O	-	4.40
5	Anshela Balachonova	Ukraine	-	-	-	O	xx o	-	4.40
6th	Stephanie McCann	Canada	-	-	-	xo	xx o	-	4.40
7th	Stacy Dragila	United States	-	-	-	x o	xxx		4.30
	Anastasia Ivanova	Russia	-	-	O	x o	xx
	Krisztina Molnar	Hungary	-	O	O	x o	xxx
	Yeoryia Tsiliggiri	Greece	-	O	O	x o	xxx
11	Zhao Yingying	People's Republic of China	-	O	xo	xx o	xxx		4.30
12	Melina Hamilton	New Zealand	-	O	O	xxx			4.15
	Floé Kühnert	Germany	-	O	O	xxx
	Teja Melink	Slovenia	O	O	O	xxx
	Tanja Stefanowa	Bulgaria	-	O	O	xxx
	Kellie Suttle	United States	-	-	O	xxx
17th	Carolina Torrez Guzman	Chile	-	x o	xxx				4.00
18th	Marie Poissonier	France	-	xx o	xxx				4.00

Group B

space	Surname	nation	3.80	4.00	4.15	4.30	4.40	4.45	height	annotation
1	Anna Rogowska	Poland	-	-	xo	O	-	xx o	4.45
2	Kateřina Baďurová	Czech Republic	-	O	O	O	O	-	4.40
	Dana Cervantes	Spain	-	-	O	O	O	-
	Elena Isinbayeva	Russia	-	-	-	-	O	-
5	Dana Ellis	Canada	-	-	O	xo	O	-	4.40
6th	Thórey Edda Elisdóttir	Iceland	-	-	xo	xxo	O	-	4.40
7th	Vanessa Boslak	France	-	-	O	O	x o	-	4.40
8th	Alejandra García	Argentina	-	xo	O	O	x o	-	4.40
9	Silke Spiegelburg	Germany	xo	xo	O	O	xx o	-	4.40
10	Kym Howe	Australia	-	O	O	O	xxx		4.30
11	Jillian Schwartz	United States	-	-	xxo	O	xxx		4.30
12	Carolin Hingst	Germany	-	-	O	xx o	xxx		4.30
13	Anna Fitídou	Cyprus	O	O	O	xxx			4.15
	Nadine Rohr	Switzerland	-	O	O	xxx
	Gao Shuying	People's Republic of China	-	O	O	xxx
16	Takayo Kondo	Japan	-	O	xx o	xxx			4.15
ogV	Afroditi Skafida	Greece	xxx							without height

final

August 24, 2004, 8:55 pm

Fifteen athletes had qualified for the final, three of them via the qualification level, the other twelve via their placements. Two Canadians, two Polish, Russian, Spanish and Czech as well as one participant each from Argentina, Germany, France, Iceland and Ukraine competed in this final.

The favorite was especially the Russian world record holder and third at the last world championships, Yelena Isinbayeva, who had dominated previous competitions in the Olympic season. But in the world and European champion Svetlana Feofanova, also from Russia, she had a strong competitor. The 2000 Olympic champion and 2001 world champion Stacy Dragila from the United States was also one of the closest favorites. Other contenders for top places were the two Poles Monika Pyrek as WM -Third 2001 and WM -Vierte of 2003 and Anna Rogowska, WM - and EM -Siebte. Dragila failed, however, in the preliminary round.

Eleven athletes were still in competition at the jump height of 4.55 m, six of them failed here three times and finished sixth to eleven, whereby there were four sixth place even after the failed attempt rule was applied. The new jump height, at which all five remaining competitors tried, was 4.65 m. Monika Pyrek tore three times, which meant fourth place in the end. Issinbajewa, Feofanowa and Rogowska each took the height in the first attempt, the Icelander Thórey Edda Elisdóttir saved her last jump after two failed attempts for the next height. So at 4.70 m there were four jumpers. Isinbayeva and Feofanova had made no failures, Rogowska had snapped twice, the Icelander five times. Thórey Edda Elisdóttir only had one last try. She failed and finished fifth behind Pyrek in the final standings. In the battle for the medals, it was now tight for the world record holder. Feofanowa and Rogowska jumped 4.70 m each straight away, while Isinbayeva had a failed attempt and saved her remaining jumps. But even at the next height of 4.75 m she tore once and picked up her only remaining jump, while Feofanova was successful the second time. Rogowska tore here three times, but she was still silver.

It continued with 4.80 m. With her last chance, Isinbayeva mastered this height. This made it clear that Anna Rogowska had won bronze. Feofanova now produced a failed attempt and played poker like Isinbayeva before. Now 4.85 m were required and Isinbayeva, who had found her safety again, only needed one jump here, while Feofanova failed a second time and saved her last attempt for 4.90 m, which would have meant the setting of the world record. But she did not manage to jump the height and so Svetlana Feofanova won the silver medal. Isinbayeva now had gold for sure and did not even try her hand at 4.90 m, but had 4.91 m, which would not only set her own world record, but improve it. And she succeeded the first time. Jelena Issinbayeva became Olympic champion and set a new world record with a jump of 4.91 m.

Jelena Isinbayeva was the first Russian Olympic champion in the women's pole vault . Anna Rogowska won the first Polish medal in this discipline. However, the women's pole vault had only been held once at the Olympic Games.

space	Surname	nation	4.00	4.20	4.40	4.55	4.65	4.70	4.75	4.80	4.85	4.90	4.91	Bottom line	annotation
1	Elena Isinbayeva	Russia	-	-	O	O	O	x-	x-	O	O	-	O	4.91	WR
2	Svetlana Feofanova	Russia	-	-	O	O	O	O	x o	x-	x-	x		4.75
3	Anna Rogowska	Poland	-	O	O	xxo	O	O	xxx					4.70
4th	Monika Pyrek	Poland	-	O	O	O	xxx							4.55
5	Thórey Edda Elisdóttir	Iceland	-	O	xxo	x o	xx-	x						4.55
6th	Vanessa Boslak	France	-	O	O	xxx								4.60
	Naroa Agirre	Spain	O	O	O	xxx
	Dana Ellis	Canada	-	O	O	xxx
	Anshela Balachonova	Ukraine	-	O	O	xxx
10	Stephanie McCann	Canada	-	xo	O	xxx								4.40
11	Pavla Hamáčková	Czech Republic	O	O	xx o	xxx								4.40
12	Kateřina Baďurová	Czech Republic	O	x o	xxx									4.20
13	Silke Spiegelburg	Germany	O	xx o	xxx									4.20
	Alejandra García	Argentina	O	xx o	xxx
ogV	Dana Cervantes	Spain	-	xxx											without height

• 

  Olympic champion Jelena Isinbayeva, Russia

• 

  Silver medalist Svetlana Feofanova from Russia

• 

  Bronze medalist Anna Rogowska, Poland

• 

  Monika Pyrek from Poland took fourth place in the final

• 

  The Olympic sixth Vanessa Boslak from France

• 

  The Czech Pavla Hamáčková finished eleventh in the Olympics

• 

  Kateřina Baďurová from the Czech Republic took twelfth place

• 

  The German Silke Spiegelburg reached thirteenth place in the final

Web links

• SportsReference pole vault , accessed May 13, 2018
• Results on the IAAF website , accessed on May 13, 2018
• Official Report of the XXVIIIth Olympiad, Results Athletics , English / French (PDF, 3054 KB), accessed on May 13, 2018

Video

• Yelena Isinbayeva Wins Gold in Pole Vault - Athens 2004 Olympics , published July 3, 2012 on youtube.com, accessed on May 13, 2018

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Central American and Caribbean Championships (Women) on gbrathletics.com, accessed May 13, 2018
2. ^ South American Championships (Women) on gbrathletics.com, accessed May 13, 2018
3. ↑ Asian Championships on gbrathletics.com, accessed May 13, 2018
4. ↑ Oceania Championships on gbrathletics.com, accessed May 13, 2018
5. ↑ IAAF world records, women's pole vault , accessed on May 13, 2018