As Tokyo Olympics 2021 nears, some are practicing and some are participating in the last events before the big event such as the Diamond League in Monaco. USA’s pole vaulter, Katie Nageotte has now triumphed against the reigning Olympic champion, Katerini Stefanidi, and silver medalist, Sandi Morris.
PV
1. Katie Nageotte 4.90m
2. Anzhelika Sidorova 4.80m
3. Katerina Stefanidi 4.80m =SB #MonacoDL pic.twitter.com/93rlVjgicu— MR.CARTER (@NelsonCarterJr) July 9, 2021
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Nageotte?had jumped 4.90 meters. That was higher than second-placed, Anzhelika Sidorova who jumped 4.80 meters. 2016 Rio Olympics champion, Stefanidi came in third with the same jump as Sidorova. Nageotte’s fellow compatriot, Sandi Morris, came in joint 6th.
?I feel a bit of pressure ahead of Tokyo, but after the U.S. Trials, this is more like a relief and I am very excited now that I am there and get to go. Let’s just show everybody what we have been working on and what we can do,” Nageotte said.
Who could win gold at Tokyo Olympics 2021?
The pole vault scene is stacked with a lot of potential gold medallists. The Diamond League line-up looked like the one that will be seen at Tokyo Olympics 2021. The top two medallists in Monaco, Nageotte, and Sidorova have the world-leading jump of 4.95 meters. And behind them is Sandi Morris with 4.91 meters.
Nageotte also won the US Olympic track & field trials held a few weeks back. There she put in her personal best jump of 4.95 m. However, Sandi Morris wasn’t impressive in the trials as she could only manage 4.60m.
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What is interesting is that Nageotte has kept improving her consistency. Monaco Diamond League was the sixth event where she jumped more than 4.80m. Nageotte’s personal best of 4.95 is already the joint 3rd highest jump in history (excluding multiple jumps). Only two jumpers in history have crossed the five-meter mark. With Sandi Morris jumping 5.00 meters back in 2016, the highest was set in 2009 by Yelena Isinbayeva at 5.06 meters. It looks highly that Nageotte will breach the five-meter mark soon.
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Anyone could win the gold in Pole Vault at Tokyo Olympics 2021. Will it be Nageotte or will Sidorova beat her or could Sandi Morris upgrade her silver from Rio 2016 or will it be someone else?