Katie Moon earns silver medal in pole vault at Paris Olympics

Katie Moon is bringing home another Olympic medal.

The Olmsted Falls native came just short of repeating her title in pole vault, finishing second with a jump of 4.85 meters (15 feet, 11 inches) to earn the silver medal on Aug. 7 at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Moon fell to Australia’s Nina Kennedy with her vault of 4.90 meters (16 feet, 3/4 inches). Canada’s Alysha Newman also cleared 4.85 but settled for bronze.

Kennedy’s height of 4.90 was Moon’s winning height in Tokyo in 2021, and the height that both cleared last year in Turkey to share the 2023 world championship. Down to her final attempt, Moon cleared 4.85 to jump up to second.

A total of 19 athletes qualified for the finals, and Moon was ready for the challenge. Starting at 4.40 meters, Moon cleared the first four heights as only five competitors got over 4.80.

Moon missed her first jump at 4.90, but Switzerland’s Angelica Moser was eliminated, thus clinching a medal. Moon decided to pass on the height, and Newman bowed out afterward. Up to 4.95, she missed both attempts, giving the crown to Kennedy.

To qualify for the finals, Moon was one of 10 individuals to clear 4.55 on Aug. 5.

Since the inception of women’s pole vault at the Olympics in 2000, Moon is one of six individuals to win the gold medal. She became the third American to win the gold in 2021, and she’s now the fourth athlete to win multiple Olympic medals in the event.

Moon’s prep for this year’s Olympics included a trip back to Olmsted Falls in June to hold the Katie Moon Pole Vault Classic. Back in her hometown, she cleared 4.73 to earn the victory against a field that wound up being some of her steepest competition at the United States Olympic Trials. Another competitor, Canada’s Anicka Newell, qualified for the Olympics but didn’t advance to the finals.

Originally Published: August 7, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.