Bleasdale looking to end Britain’s barren streak at the pole vault
 |
| European under-23 champion Holly Bleasdale of Great Britain has a good chance of winning her country's first ever medal in the pole vault at the World Championships in Daegu. |
Great Britain has never won a medal in at the World Championships in the pole vault, either the men’s or women’s event, but many people believe the 2011 European Athletics U23 Championships gold medallist Holly Bleasdale has a chance of ending that streak.
Her 4.70m vault in Mannheim, Germany, on 2 July not only set a British record but also set a new world best for a teenager.
She currently ranks ninth in the world ahead of the World Championships, which start in the South Korean city of Daegu on Saturday, and seventh in Europe this year, but there is relatively little between her and the women ahead of her on the list.
At the very least Bleasdale, who hails from the northern English town of Preston and who doesn’t celebrate her 20th birthday until November, stands good chance of becoming the youngest ever World Championships finalist.
“It’s been a pretty good couple of weeks. Everything’s given me so much more confidence and I'm feeling great,” said Bleasdale, in an interview with the UK Athletics publication Trackside.
“My main aim this summer has always been the European U23s and now having won this, I'm looking ahead to Daegu.
“I think 4.70 is a realistic chance of medalling at any Championships and I know I can do this, so who knows. There are quite a lot of girls jumping well this season, but you never know what can happen at a major championship.
“People can crumble and things like that, so if I can jump consistently at 4.70, 4.75, then it’ll probably be good enough for a medal; that’s the aim anyway. I think 4.80 is within me definitely, it just matters how I jump on the day.”
It is worth pointing out that 4.75m was enough for Poland’s Anna Rogowska to take the gold medal at the 2009 World Championships but Bleasdale knows she faces some serious competition out in South Korea, including the American 2011 world leader Jennifer Suhr and Germany’s Martina Strutz, who is the best European this year with 4.78m. Oh, and a certain reigning Olympic champion and two-time former world champion that goes by the name of Yelena Isinbayeva.
“I'm going into a good block of training now and after that it’s hopefully onwards and upwards until the World Championships. My aim there is to make the final. I've never competed that far away from home so it’s going to provide me with some great experience,” she added.
