Parnov Through to Youth Olympic Pole Vault Final

16 year-old WAIS pole vaulter Liz Parnov has qualified for Saturday’s final in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

The national champion did it the hard way however, requiring her third and final jump to clear the automatic qualifying height of 3.90m.

Parnov – with a personal best of 4.40m – elected to enter the qualifying stage at 3.90, but was unsuccessful in her first two attempts, before booking her place in the medal round with a pressure clearance at the Bishan Stadium.

The young gun qualified in fifth, after Ukrainian Ganna Shelekh, Swede Angelica Bengtsson, China’s Huiqin Xu and Russian Natalia Demidenko all negotiated the height at the first attempt.

Parnov admitted to facing nerves ahead of her final attempt, but was able to get the job done with the help of WAIS coach and father, Alex Parnov.

“My dad (Alex) told me before my last jump to remember what I’d done in training, be confident, forget everything else that has happened and treat it like a first attempt,” Parnov said.

“I did that. I just went for it and now I am so relieved that it’s out of the way.

“I think qualification was always going to be the hardest and now I can relax and focus on the final.”

Parnov was the last competitor to enter the competition and will come in at the same height for Saturday’s final.

Parnov was the only athlete to enter the competition at 3.90m, but will face strong competition for medals in Saturday’s final from Bengtsson, who boasts a personal best of 4.47m and Shelekh, who was the top qualifier with three consecutive first time clearances.

To hear Parnov’s thoughts about the Youth Olympics click here.