Jenn Suhr Breaks Pole Vault Mark

The women's indoor pole vault world record is back in the United States after Jenn Suhr cleared 5.02 meters (16 feet, 5½ inches) at the U.S. Indoor Championships earlier this month. American Stacy Dragila owned the world indoor mark of 4.78/15-8 when Svetlana Feofanova broke the record in February 2003. Fellow Russian Yelena Isinbayeva eventually took charge and had held the record since March 2004, eventually reaching 5.01/16-5¼ last year.

Suhr set her mark in Albuquerque, at an altitude of 1,600 meters (5,250 feet). She began at 4.65/15-3, cleared each of her first four heights on her first attempt, then with the U.S. title wrapped up, she scored a first-attempt success at 5.02. Suhr then missed three times at 5.07/16-7½, taking aim at Isinbayeva's overall world record of 5.06/16-7, set outdoors in Zurich in 2009.