Jennifer Stuczynski
Encyclopedia
Jennifer "Jenn" Suhr (born February 5, 1982) is the number one ranked American
pole vault
er since 2006. She has won a total of 9 US National Championships
. She holds the American women's pole vault record
both indoors and outdoors. In 2008 she won the U.S. Olympic trials setting an American Record of and won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics
. Track & Field News
named her American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008.
. She got involved in sports at a young age, playing softball at age 6. At 9, she competed in an adult golf league with her grandfather. At Fredonia High School, she played softball, basketball, soccer, and track and field, and won the New York State pentathlon
title in 2000 as a senior.
Suhr attended Roberts Wesleyan College
in Rochester, New York
, where she competed in basketball and track and field. She averaged 24.3 points and 6.7 rebounds a game for Roberts Wesleyan in 2003–04, taking her team to the NCCAA
national championship game. She graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball with 1,819 points; and school record-holder in the 100 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles, javelin and high jump. At Roberts she finished her degree in psychology and has started on her graduate degree in school psychology.
As a youth, her father provided critical advice on her performance in all of her sports. Her father was supportive in many different athletic disciplines.
On January 3, 2010, Jenn married her coach Rick Suhr
in Rochester NY.
by Adam Steinwachs where the two teamed up to lead her in to pole vaulting.
providing financial support to her by re-mortgaging his home. Suhr started the 2006 indoor season with personal bests at nearly every meet and becoming the #2 American all time, behind only Stacy Dragila
, with her clearance of . She captured her first USA Outdoor title with her winning clearance of at the 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships. She finished third at the 2006 World Athletics Final
.
in Carson, California
, beating a talented group including an Olympic champion to become the top pole vaulter in the country. She reached the record height of 15 foot, beating the American record set by Stacy Dragila
in 2004 by a half inch. She was the only vaulter to clear 15 in 0 in (4.57 m). She was successful on her first try at 15 in 3 in (4.65 m).
On June 2, 2007 at the Reebok Grand Prix
, she cleared , becoming only the second woman in the world to do so. Suhr cleared 16 feet eclipsing her previous American Record set the month prior by one and a half inched. The only woman who had vaulted higher was the Russian Yelena Isinbayeva
, whose world record at the time was . Jenn then tried to vault over Isinbayeva. The bar was raised to , and she almost cleared it on the second of her three attempts.
. Both cleared .
At the Adidas Track Classic on May 18, 2008 Suhr cleared , breaking her own American record. She missed all three attempts at , which would have been a world record. The U.S. Olympic Committee named her its female athlete of the month for May.
At the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 6, 2008 Suhr cleared , winning the trials and breaking her own American record.
At the Aviva Grand Prix
on July 25, 2008 two women attempted the world record in the same meet for the first time in Modern Pole Vaulting. Both Suhr and Isinbayeva were unsuccessful.
At the Olympics
in Beijing
on August 18, 2008 Suhr finished second to Isinbayeva, clearing . Isinbayeva broke her own world record with a jump of . Jenn Suhr finished with the Olympic Silver Medal and credited her coach Rick Suhr
for his strict regimen in coaching for her success preparing her for the competitiveness and high stress of the Olympics.
when she cleared 15 foot. Suhr won each Visa Championship Meet and broke her own American record with a vault of 15 in 10 in (4.83 m) at the US Indoor Nationals in Boston on March 1, 2009 giving her a 7th US Title.
On July 1, 2009 she cleared 15 in 3 in (4.65 m) at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
in Oregon to win another American title.
with a vault of . It was her fifth consecutive US outdoor title and was the best mark by any woman vaulter in the world for 2010.
with another national record clearance of for the indoor event.
, a brand of vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements.
named Suhr the American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008. No male vaulter has ever won the American honor and the only other female winner was Stacy Dragila
in 2001.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pole vault
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
er since 2006. She has won a total of 9 US National Championships
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...
. She holds the American women's pole vault record
United States records in track and field
The following are the national records in track & field in the United States maintained by USA Track & Field .Key:-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distanceA = affected by altitude# = not officially ratified by IAAF...
both indoors and outdoors. In 2008 she won the U.S. Olympic trials setting an American Record of and won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. Track & Field News
Track & Field News
Track & Field News is a magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson & Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field.The magazine provides coverage of athletics in the U.S.A. from the high school to national level as well as covering the sport on an international bases. The magazine...
named her American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008.
Biography
Suhr was born to Mark and Sue Stuczynski, grocery store owners in Fredonia, New YorkFredonia, New York
Fredonia is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 11,068 as of 2009.The Village of Fredonia is in the Town of Pomfret south of Lake Erie...
. She got involved in sports at a young age, playing softball at age 6. At 9, she competed in an adult golf league with her grandfather. At Fredonia High School, she played softball, basketball, soccer, and track and field, and won the New York State pentathlon
Pentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games...
title in 2000 as a senior.
Suhr attended Roberts Wesleyan College
Roberts Wesleyan College
Roberts Wesleyan College is a Christian liberal arts college located in North Chili, New York. It is the first educational institution established for Free Methodists in North America...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, where she competed in basketball and track and field. She averaged 24.3 points and 6.7 rebounds a game for Roberts Wesleyan in 2003–04, taking her team to the NCCAA
National Christian College Athletic Association
The National Christian College Athletic Association is an association of approximately 100 Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada which see collegiate sports primarily as an opportunity for Christian fellowship and ministry. The national headquarters...
national championship game. She graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball with 1,819 points; and school record-holder in the 100 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles, javelin and high jump. At Roberts she finished her degree in psychology and has started on her graduate degree in school psychology.
As a youth, her father provided critical advice on her performance in all of her sports. Her father was supportive in many different athletic disciplines.
On January 3, 2010, Jenn married her coach Rick Suhr
Rick Suhr
Rick Suhr is an Olympic level pole vaulting coach in |Rochester]], New York. In the last 6 years Suhr's athletes have won an un-paralleled 15 National Championships and set 16 National Records in the pole vault at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels...
in Rochester NY.
2004
Jenn was introduced to pole vault coach Rick SuhrRick Suhr
Rick Suhr is an Olympic level pole vaulting coach in |Rochester]], New York. In the last 6 years Suhr's athletes have won an un-paralleled 15 National Championships and set 16 National Records in the pole vault at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels...
by Adam Steinwachs where the two teamed up to lead her in to pole vaulting.
2005
In the 2005 USA Indoor Championships in Boston, Suhr entered as an unknown, unseeded competitor and won the US Title having only pole vaulted for 10 months. She went on to set three personal bests eventually clearing . Later that indoor season she won the NAIA indoor national title in the pole vault with a clearance.2006
Suhr began her career with her coach Rick SuhrRick Suhr
Rick Suhr is an Olympic level pole vaulting coach in |Rochester]], New York. In the last 6 years Suhr's athletes have won an un-paralleled 15 National Championships and set 16 National Records in the pole vault at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels...
providing financial support to her by re-mortgaging his home. Suhr started the 2006 indoor season with personal bests at nearly every meet and becoming the #2 American all time, behind only Stacy Dragila
Stacy Dragila
Stacy Renée Mikaelsen is an American former pole vaulter.She won the first gold medal in women's pole vaulting at the 2000 Summer Olympics coached by Dave Nielsen...
, with her clearance of . She captured her first USA Outdoor title with her winning clearance of at the 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships. She finished third at the 2006 World Athletics Final
2006 IAAF World Athletics Final
The 4th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 9 and September 10, 2006.-Results:-External links:*...
.
2007
On May 20, 2007, Suhr broke the American outdoor pole vault record at the Adidas Track ClassicAdidas Track Classic
The Adidas Track Classic is an American track and field athletics meeting which has taken place annually in Carson, California since 2005. The meeting forms part of the USA Track & Field Visa Championship Series and is also one of the few area meetings where athletes can earn points to qualify for...
in Carson, California
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
, beating a talented group including an Olympic champion to become the top pole vaulter in the country. She reached the record height of 15 foot, beating the American record set by Stacy Dragila
Stacy Dragila
Stacy Renée Mikaelsen is an American former pole vaulter.She won the first gold medal in women's pole vaulting at the 2000 Summer Olympics coached by Dave Nielsen...
in 2004 by a half inch. She was the only vaulter to clear 15 in 0 in (4.57 m). She was successful on her first try at 15 in 3 in (4.65 m).
On June 2, 2007 at the Reebok Grand Prix
Reebok Grand Prix
The Adidas Grand Prix, formerly the Reebok Grand Prix, is an annual athletics meeting at the Icahn Stadium in New York City, United States. Previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League.-World records:...
, she cleared , becoming only the second woman in the world to do so. Suhr cleared 16 feet eclipsing her previous American Record set the month prior by one and a half inched. The only woman who had vaulted higher was the Russian Yelena Isinbayeva
Yelena Isinbayeva
Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva is a Russian pole vaulter. She is twice an Olympic gold medalist , five-times a World Champion, and the current world record holder in the event...
, whose world record at the time was . Jenn then tried to vault over Isinbayeva. The bar was raised to , and she almost cleared it on the second of her three attempts.
2008
Suhr won the Indoor U.S. Nationals, which qualified her for the 2008 IAAF Indoor World Championships in Valencia, Spain, where she finished second on a countback to the Russian World Record Holder Yelena IsinbayevaYelena Isinbayeva
Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva is a Russian pole vaulter. She is twice an Olympic gold medalist , five-times a World Champion, and the current world record holder in the event...
. Both cleared .
At the Adidas Track Classic on May 18, 2008 Suhr cleared , breaking her own American record. She missed all three attempts at , which would have been a world record. The U.S. Olympic Committee named her its female athlete of the month for May.
At the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 6, 2008 Suhr cleared , winning the trials and breaking her own American record.
At the Aviva Grand Prix
London Grand Prix
The Aviva London Grand Prix is an annual athletics event at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, England.Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League...
on July 25, 2008 two women attempted the world record in the same meet for the first time in Modern Pole Vaulting. Both Suhr and Isinbayeva were unsuccessful.
At the Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
on August 18, 2008 Suhr finished second to Isinbayeva, clearing . Isinbayeva broke her own world record with a jump of . Jenn Suhr finished with the Olympic Silver Medal and credited her coach Rick Suhr
Rick Suhr
Rick Suhr is an Olympic level pole vaulting coach in |Rochester]], New York. In the last 6 years Suhr's athletes have won an un-paralleled 15 National Championships and set 16 National Records in the pole vault at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels...
for his strict regimen in coaching for her success preparing her for the competitiveness and high stress of the Olympics.
2009
She set a new American record on February 7, 2009 at the Boston Indoor GamesBoston Indoor Games
The Boston Indoor Games, known as the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons, is an annual indoor track and field meet which is held in late January or early February at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center...
when she cleared 15 foot. Suhr won each Visa Championship Meet and broke her own American record with a vault of 15 in 10 in (4.83 m) at the US Indoor Nationals in Boston on March 1, 2009 giving her a 7th US Title.
On July 1, 2009 she cleared 15 in 3 in (4.65 m) at the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place between June 25–28 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The competition acted as a way of selecting the United States team for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin later that year....
in Oregon to win another American title.
2010
On June 27, 2010, Jenn Suhr won the USA Outdoor Gill Women's Pole Vault in Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
with a vault of . It was her fifth consecutive US outdoor title and was the best mark by any woman vaulter in the world for 2010.
2011
On February 27, 2011, Suhr won her tenth national title overall with a win at the 2011 USA Indoor Track and Field ChampionshipsUSA Indoor Track and Field Championships
The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport...
with another national record clearance of for the indoor event.
Sponsorship
In 2006 Suhr signed a 4-year sponsorship with Adidas. In August 2007, Suhr was signed as a brand spokesperson for NutriliteNutrilite
Nutrilite is a brand of mineral, vitamin, and dietary supplements created in 1934 by Dr. Carl F. Rehnborg. Nutrilite products are currently manufactured by Access Business Group, a subsidiary of Alticor whose products are sold via the Amway and Amway Global Corporations worldwide...
, a brand of vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements.
Awards and honors
Track & Field NewsTrack & Field News
Track & Field News is a magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson & Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field.The magazine provides coverage of athletics in the U.S.A. from the high school to national level as well as covering the sport on an international bases. The magazine...
named Suhr the American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008. No male vaulter has ever won the American honor and the only other female winner was Stacy Dragila
Stacy Dragila
Stacy Renée Mikaelsen is an American former pole vaulter.She won the first gold medal in women's pole vaulting at the 2000 Summer Olympics coached by Dave Nielsen...
in 2001.