Another trans-Atlantic pole vault rivalry: W50 vs. W50
Why should the men have all the fun? Jeff Kingstad’s back-and-forth M55 record exchange with Germany’s Wolfgang Ritte — the subject of this blog and then the cover of the current National Masters News — has a female analog. In England, W50 vaulter Jennifer Ibbitson hopes to top her American counterpart, Donna Schultz, who in January set a W50 indoor world record at Reno with a clearance of 10-0 3/4.
This article in the Spenborough Guardian says: “Now (Jennifer) is looking to . . . beat the world indoor pole vault record when she competes at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Clermont-Ferrand, France, next month. To claim a new world best Jennifer must beat the 3.07m record which is held by American athlete Donna Schmidt.” (Getting the name wrong doesn’t show proper respect to the record holder, though.) Jennifer’s W50 best is 2 inches below Donna’s. Best of luck to both!
Here’s the Guardian piece, in case the link goes dead:
Jennifer raises the bar again and aims for a world record
SPEN athlete Jennifer Ibbitson has barely had time to celebrate increasing her British pole vault record before getting down to serious preparation for her attempt on a remarkable world masters double.
Jennifer, from Hightown, who competes in the over 50 age category, increased her own British indoor pole vault record from two metres 95 centimetres to 3m in the Scottish Masters at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow last week.
Now she is looking to build on the experience and beat the world indoor pole vault record when she competes at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Clermont-Ferrand, France next month.
To claim a new world best Jennifer must beat the 3.07m record which is held by American athlete Donna Schmidt.
Jennifer is going for a golden double in France as she is already the world outdoor champion, having won gold at the world masters in Itlay last September.
The Scottish Masters event proved to be a golden opportunity for Jennifer as she won the shot with a record breaking throw of 10.56m.
She also won the hammer and the heavy weight throwing events and Jennifer will be competing in these again when she goes to France.
Jennifer, the Reporter Series’ sportswoman of the year, was also at the British Championships at Picketts Lock, London where she sacrificed her chances in the pole vault to coach a 70-year-old male athlete to victory in his age category. Both Jennifer and her coaching charge recorded leaps of 2.71m and he was delighted to win his category.
This weekend, Jennifer is back in the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow where she will be competing and coaching her Spenborough AC teammates.
Jennifer has come through a good winter of training injury free so she and her coach Andy, who is also her husband, have high hopes for the forthcoming events and the outdoor season.
2 Responses
I believe Donna has since gone 3.11m at the University of Washington.
Yup, 3.11 is correct.
I forgot that I reported it here:
http://masterstrack.com/blog/002137.html
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