Katie Nageotte, the American pole vault champion, won unexpectedly gold at the Olympics over Anzhelika Sidorova, the world champion from Russia.Nageotte was unsuccessful at 4.50 meters on her first and second attempts, but she improved to win her first major medal. She won 4.90 (16.08 feet), on her third attempt in this medal-clinching round.She said that she knew my family woke up early to watch and that it would have been very difficult for me to make them watch me at six in the morning. "So that was definitely what I was thinking."Sidorova won the silver medal at 4.85. At 4.90, she lost her last chance and raised the bar to 4.95. But she didn't even come close to clearing it.Sidorova's Silver was the first medal in track & field at the Tokyo Games. The bronze medal was won by Holly Bradshaw from Britain.Nageotte's win was part of a five minute burst of action at the backstretch on the Olympic track. It served as an excellent snapshot of what is happening in Tokyo for the U.S. Track and Field team.Nageotte ran up to the stands in celebration, but American 400-meter champion Michael Norman couldn’t keep his fast start and finished fourth.The U.S. men’s sprinters were once the global leader in track and field, but they left the stadium without winning a single medal during the first seven days.As American Olympic champions in pole vault, Nageotte is joined by Jenn Suhr (and Stacy Dragila).Nageotte won gold after setting the bar at 5.01 and taped the pole. She took off but came up short. Anguished at what she had just experienced, she couldn't focus.She said, "The emotion of winning."This report was contributed by The Associated Press.
