Emma George

Australian pole vaulter

Emma George (born 1 November 1974[1] in Beechworth, Victoria) is a former Australian pole vaulter. She set twelve world records in a row in the late nineties, but she lost the record on 26 May 2000 to Stacy Dragila and was unable to recapture it. She was previously a trapeze artist in The Flying Fruit Fly Circus.[2][3] She was coached by world-renowned coach Mark Stewart, who also led Steve Hooker to Olympic gold.

George competed in and won the Gladiator Individual Sports Athletes Challenge in 1995.

George suffered a fall while training for the 1999 Seville Championships. She then underwent a number of operations on her back before finally announcing her retirement in 2003.[4]

World records

  • 4.25 m - Melbourne, Australia 30 November 1995
  • 4.28 m - Perth, Australia 17 December 1995
  • 4.30 m - Perth, Australia 28 January 1996
  • 4.41 m - Perth, Australia 28 January 1996
  • 4.42 m - Reims, France 29 June 1996
  • 4.45 m - Sapporo, Japan 14 July 1996
  • 4.50 m - Melbourne, Australia 8 February 1997
  • 4.55 m - Melbourne, Australia 20 February 1997
  • 4.57 m - North Shore City, New Zealand 21 February 1998
  • 4.58 m - South Melbourne, Australia 14 March 1998
  • 4.59 m - Brisbane, Australia 21 March 1998
  • 4.60 m - Sydney, Australia 20 February 1999

Achievements

Representing  Australia
Year Competition Venue Position Notes
1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 2nd 4.35 m
Universiade Catania, Italy 1st 4.40 m
1998 Goodwill Games Uniondale, United States 2nd 4.30 m
Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st 4.20 m
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 6th 4.35 m
World Championships Seville, Spain 14th 4.15 m
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 15th (q) 4.25 m

References

  1. ^ "Emma GEORGE – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  2. ^ Turnbull, Simon (26 March 2023). "The year the women's pole vault took flight". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Sevilla 99 Preview: Emma versus all the Women's Pole Vault".
  4. ^ "Pole-vault pioneer George retires at 29". 2 December 2003.

External links

Records
Preceded by Women's Pole Vault World Record Holder
30 November 1995 – 26 May 2000
Succeeded by
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Commonwealth Games champions in women's pole vault
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Summer Universiade champions in women's pole vault
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Authority control databases: People Edit this at Wikidata
  • Australian Women's Register
  • World Athletics