Nageotte secures first career Diamond League victory, achieves new outdoor personal best at city vault event to equal Morris for world’s No. 3 performer this year 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

American Katie Nageotte celebrated her July 4th with an outdoor personal best and a memorable victory Thursday in the women’s city pole vault competition in Flon, held ahead of the Athletissima, the annual Lausanne Diamond League meeting in Switzerland.

Nageotte cleared 15 feet, 9.75 inches (4.82m) on her second attempt, before missing three tries at 16-0.75 (4.90m), to secure her first outdoor victory in Europe this year after securing three indoor wins in France in February. Anzhelika Sidorova, competing as an authorized neutral athlete, and Great Britain’s Holly Bradshaw both cleared 15-5.75 (4.72m) to place second and third.

Nageotte not only secured her first career Diamond League victory, she also became the first American female athlete to win the pole vault in Lausanne.

Russian great Yelena Isinbayeva set a then-world record with a 16-2 (4.93m) clearance to prevail in 2005 and then repeated with a 16-0.75 clearance in 2006 at Athletissima, before the event wasn’t contested for more than a decade. Olympic gold medalist Katerina Stefanidi of Greece earned the victory in its return to the Lausanne schedule last year by clearing 15-9.75.

Nageotte equaled fellow American Sandi Morris as the No. 3 outdoor performer in the world this year, with the U.S. occupying three of the top four spots as Jenn Suhr remains the global leader at 16-1.25 (4.91m).

Nageotte’s previous outdoor best was 15-9 (4.80m) in August in Germany. Her overall highest clearance remains 16-1.25 from last year’s USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.

Nageotte, a two-time U.S. indoor champion who previously won twice outdoors in Germany last year along with the North American Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) gold medal in Canada, finished eighth in Lausanne last year after only clearing 14-10 (4.52m).