Stacy Dragila

Stacy Renée Dragila (née Mikaelson; born 25 March 1971 in Auburn, California) is an American former pole vaulter.

Stacy Dragila
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1971-03-25) 25 March 1971
Auburn, California, United States
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
Country United States
SportAthletics
Event(s)Pole vault
ClubNike, Beaverton
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • Pole vault: 4.83 (2004)
Medal record
Olympic Games
2000 SydneyPole vault
World Championships
1999 SevillePole vault
2001 EdmontonPole vault
World Indoor Championships
1997 ParisPole vault
2004 BudapestPole vault

Early life
Stacy Dragila standing in front of her photographic statue while being inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame

Stacy grew up in the rural town of Auburn. When her older brother Eric got involved with Rodeo, she followed him into the sport. She also participated in gymnastics, but had to give it up due to childhood asthma.

She attended Placer Union High School where she played volleyball and ran on the track team as a sprinter, hurdler and jumper. Early on, she didn't feel she was living up to her potential. She got coaching from Yuba Community College's John Orognen. She managed to get to the finals of the 300 meters hurdles at the CIF California State Meet, but didn't place.[1] She placed second at the Golden West Invitational in the 400 meters hurdles.[2]

Pole vaulting

After graduating, Nielsen gave her a job as assistant coach, which she supplemented by working as a waitress. Her improvement continued, clearing 13 feet in January 1996. By June she was up to 13' 9". The Olympic Trials held the women's pole vault as a demonstration event, which Stacy won by a foot. But there was no Olympics for her that year.[3]

Professional
Stacy Dragila accepting her induction into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame

She divorced Brent in 2006.[4]

Stacy Dragila resides in San Diego, California and is the founder of Altius Track Club.

She made the 2009 World Championships in Athletics her final major championship and she finished with a jump of 4.25 m, not progressing to the pole vault final.[5] Dragila was one of the foremost athletes in the early years of women's pole vaulting, winning the gold medal at the first three major pole vaulting championships. Her best vault of 4.83 m set in 2004 was significantly higher than other female vaulters of her generation.[6]

While she jumped 4.70m at age 37, her 4.55m at age 38 in 2009 is the ratified W35 Masters World Record.

Dragila married American discus thrower Ian Waltz and welcomed daughter Allyx (an alternative spelling of the standard 'Alex') Josephine Waltz on June 21, 2010.[7]

In 2014, she was elected into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.[8] Dragila Way, on the campus of Idaho State University is named in her honor.

International competitions
Year Competition Venue Position Notes
1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 1st Pole vault
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 1st Pole vault
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 1st Pole vault
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Alberta 1st Pole vault
2001 Goodwill Games Brisbane, Australia 1st Pole vault
2003 World Athletics Final Fontvieille, Monaco 1st Pole vault
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd Pole vault

National titles
  • USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
    • Pole vault (9): 1996†, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
  • USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
    • Pole vault (8): 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004

† The 1996 contest was a non-championship event

References
  1. http://lynbrooksports.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/1990/gwi_res.pdf
  2. http://lynbrooksports.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/1990/gwi_res.pdf
  3. https://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2014-12-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Landells, Steve (2009-08-15). Event Report - Women's Pole Vault - Qualification Archived 2009-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-16.
  7. http://trackfield.teamusa.org/news/2010/09/27/a-decade-later-stacy-dragila/38733
  8. http://www.usatf.org/Athlete-Bios/Hall-of-Fame/2014-Hall-of-Fame-Bios/Stacy-Renee-Mikaelsen-Dragila.aspx
Records
Preceded by
Emma George		 Women's pole vault world record holder
August 21, 1999 – July 13, 2003		 Succeeded by
Yelena Isinbayeva
Awards
Preceded by
Marion Jones		 Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year
2001		 Succeeded by
Paula Radcliffe
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