Fredonia native Jenn Suhr finished tied for fourth in the pole vault Wednesday at the world championships in Beijing.
Suhr, the reigning Olympic champion who is ranked first in the world in her event, suffered a groin injury during the competition, according to USA Track & Field.
Suhr, who now resides in Riga, which is located between Batavia and Rochester, had waited until 4.60m/15-1 to enter the competition, clearing on her first attempt and doing the same at 4.70. Suhr tweaked her groin but stayed in the competition. Suhr tied for fourth with Sandi Morris of Greenville, S.C., was clear on her first attempts at the first four heights, and Sweden’s Angelica Bengtsson.
“First run through, I stepped on a pad funny and pulled my groin,” Suhr said. “So that was pretty much the way the competition went from there. I had to really work off the top of the pole because I didn’t have any speed.
“It’s really sad to come all this way and have that happen,” she said, before referring to the 2016 Olympics, “but at least it’s not next year, right?”
Those three were unable to clear 4.80/15-9, leaving Cuba’s Yarisley Silva, Brazil’s Fabiana Murer and Greece’s Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou to battle for the medals: Silva finished first at 4.90m/16-0.75, Murer second at 4.85m/15-11 and Kyriakopoulou third at 4.80m.
From: http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/injury-hampers-suhr-at-worlds-finishes-tied-for-fourth-20150827
