The University of Akron Athletics
Roloff Finishes 21st in Olympic Women's Pole Vault
August 16 | Track & Field
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OFFICIAL POLE VAULT WOMEN'S QUALIFYING RESULTS (8/16/16)
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Making her Olympic debut, former Akron All-American Annika Roloff, who was representing her home country of Germany, placed 21st in qualifying of the women's pole vault at the XXXI Summer Olympics on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Roloff passed at the opening height of 13-7.25 (4.15m) before bettering 14-1.25 (4.30m) on her initial jump of the competition.
She then eclipsed 14-7.25 (4.45m) on her third and final attempt at the mark. The bar was then raised to 14-11 (4.55m) where she was unable to surpass the bar on each of her three runs at the height. The qualifying standard to qualify for the finals was 15-1 (4.60m).
"It was such an honor to be part of the Olympics," said Roloff. "I might not have reached my aim to advance to the final, but I had fun vaulting and was reminded again why I love this sport so much. It is not easy for Germans to qualify in the pole vault because we have so many good vaulters. Even more do I feel blessed and enthusiastic about the years to come now because I know that I am going to be able to jump so much higher."
"Annika was performing well out there," Akron head coach Dennis Mitchell commented. "She looked great at 14-7 as she cleared it by a lot. Most years that would have been enough to make it to the next round. However, this year it took some big bars. This year internationally women's pole vaulting is very deep. What an honor for her to be here at the games. She will always be called an Olympian."
