Who was the first woman to pole vault over 5 meters?

Yelena Isinbayeva was the first woman to pole vault over 5 meters.

She cleared exactly 5.00 meters at Crystal Palace in London on July 22, 2005. The achievement broke a barrier that had long been considered one of the defining milestones in women's pole vaulting. Isinbayeva completed the vault on her first attempt and then raised the bar again later that season.

At the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, she cleared 5.01 meters, setting another world record while winning the title. She ultimately established her outdoor world record at 5.06 meters in Zürich in 2009. That mark remained unbeaten for years and became the signature figure of her career.

Isinbayeva also became the first woman to clear 5 meters indoors, doing so in Donetsk in 2009. Jennifer Suhr, Sandi Morris and Ekaterini Stefanidi are accomplished vaulters, but they came after Isinbayeva's historic breakthrough.