Stacy Dragila became the first Olympic champion in the women’s pole vault at Sydney 2000.
Women’s pole vault was added to the Olympic athletics program at the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. Dragila of the United States cleared 4.60 metres to win the inaugural title, ahead of Australia’s Tatiana Grigorieva and Iceland’s Vala Flosadóttir.
The event’s Olympic debut followed years of rapid development in women’s pole vaulting. Improvements in fiberglass poles, training methods, and technique helped athletes progress from early national competitions to world-class heights.
Dragila had already won the first world championship title in the event at Seville in 1999. Her Olympic victory made her the first woman to claim the event’s most prestigious title, while later champions included Yelena Isinbayeva, who set multiple world records after becoming a leading figure in the discipline.