18-year-old Hana Moll is approaching Wilma Murro’s almost eight-year-old youth world record. A super talented pair of siblings is developing in the women’s pole vault, writes Urheilu’s Joel Sippola.
Joel Sippola
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In the women’s pole vault qualification, which was contested on Monday, the Finnish people naturally received the most attention Wilma Murto. However, the most exciting performance of the qualification was overshadowed by the convincing Finnish star.
Just 18 years old from the USA Hana Moll made it to the finals with her record 465 in her adult competition debut. What makes the performance even more meaningful is the fact that it is the best result ever achieved by a female pole vaulter under the age of 20 on outdoor tracks.
Before Moll, the best quote for that age group was by Eliza McCartney 464. McCartney from New Zealand is the youngest ever Olympic medalist in the sport.
The world record for under-20s, i.e. young people, is still held by Murro. Finnish talent did it in 2016 at the age of 17. The result obtained in the hall qualifies as an ME result.
The youth ME has survived for a surprisingly long time under Murro’s name, but hardly for much longer. Hana Moll, born in 2005, belongs to the under-20 series next season as well, so there are still plenty of opportunities to break a new record.
For comparison, Murro’s best outdoor track result in the youth series is 452. Moll, who already celebrated the under-20 world championship last year, is a top class talent.
The 18-year-old American is a competitive athlete with a cool head. Moll set his previous record (461) in the US hard-level qualifiers and was a wonderful third in the race. He had not broken the World Championship limit, but was finally selected through the ranking from the last places, when 36 athletes were qualified for Budapest.
Eliza McCartney, who went to the World Championships as a medal favorite, and one of the top athletes Alysha Newman missed the qualification. Moll noticed that even star jumpers are only human.
– I was relieved when others and even the top jumpers in the world were nervous. That put me at ease, good-natured Moll stated after the race.
What makes Moll interesting is that her twin sister Amanda Moll is also a talented pole vaulter. His record is also tough, 461. The siblings are in a class of their own in their age group.
– There is a stick culture in the United States. There is know-how. They are coming from there, Jarno Koivunen commented on the twin sisters to Urheilu before the World Cup.
Murto stated to Urheilu at the under-23 European Championships held in Epoo that the athletes who were successful in those competitions will cause him problems in the future. Moll’s super talented sisters will really cause it in the future.