Wilma Murto won the women’s pole vault European championship in Munich. Murto improved the Finnish record three times and won the gold with a score of 485. See Murto’s winning jump by clicking on the picture in the article.
17.8.•Updated 17.8.
Wilma Murto won the women’s pole vault European champion in Munich. Murto secured his championship by surpassing the Finnish record of 485.
See Murro’s crossing from height 485 in the video below.
Murto, 24, improved the Finnish record no less than three times. Murto exceeded the height of 475 on his first jump and moments later 480 on his first jump.
You can watch Murro’s crossings from heights 475 and 480 in the videos below. The story continues after the videos.
Even though the EC gold was already certain, Murto decided to continue jumping and on his second attempt exceeded the height of 485. On the night of Munich, Murto improved his previous Finnish record by a whopping 13 cents.
Murro’s winning score of 485 is an EC competition record and this year’s second highest score in the whole world. Russian Anzhelika Sidorova is at the top of the statistics with a score of 491.
“Tonight couldn’t have gone any better”
The women’s pole vault final turned out to be a wildly exciting drama. Greek Aikaterini Stefanidi dominated the competition for a long time, but Murto made his jump go at the deciding heights. Stefanidi’s 475 was finally enough for silver. Slovenian Tina Sutej took bronze with a score of 475.
– This evening could not have gone any better. I have felt that this has been simmering under the surface for a long time, Murto told Urheilu.
Earlier in the summer, Murto finished sixth in the pole finals of the World Championships in Eugene.
– At last after the World Championships, I had the feeling that now it should be taken out of there, this evening was the perfect place for that, Murto described his mood.
The strict concentration on one’s own jumps blocked all external distractions from one’s mind.
– I was in my own bubble until the medal was confirmed. And that’s where my flow really started. I knew that now I had a medal, so I just let go as much as I could, Murto said.
– We have been training for this, there are really crazy hours of work behind it. It’s really great that I got paid for my work now. It’s a long road, but I’ve enjoyed every moment, Murto made his long way to the European championship.
The Finnish women’s long period without a medal at the European Championships came to an end
The previous Finnish European champion in athletics was a javelin thrower Antti Ruuskanenwho won gold at the Zurich Games in 2014.
Murto ended the long period of Finnish women without a gold medal in EC athletics. The previous Finnish European Athletics gold medalist was a walker Sari Essayahwho won gold at the Helsinki Games in 1994.
Elina Lampela ended up in 11th place with a score of 440. Lampela cleared 440 on his third attempt, but the height of 455 was too much for him.
Women’s pole vault EC final
1. Wilma Murto FIN 485 SE
2. Aikaterini Stefanidi GRE 475
3. Tina Sutej SLO 475
4. Caroline Holm DEN 455
4. Angelica Moser SUI 455
6. Marie-Julie Bonnin FRA 455
7. Molly Caudery GBR 455
7. Roberta Bruni ITA 455
9. Sophie Cook GBR 440
10. Margot Chevrier FRA 440
11. Elina Lampela FIN 440
12. Lene Retzius NOR 425
Updated on 17.8. 11:20 p.m.: Wilma Murto still crossed the height of 485.