Olympics: Morgann LeLeux of New Iberia qualifies for finals in pole vault at Tokyo Olympics

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, August 3, 2021

Morgann LeLeux of New Iberia has qualified for the finals in the pole vault at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

LeLeux cleared 4.55 meters (14 feet, 11 inches) on her final try Monday to advance to the finals, scheduled for Thursday at 5:20 am CT.

The former UL track standout cleared 4.40 (14-5 ¼) on her first attempt.

The event was suspended because of rain before resuming.

How she qualified:The day New Iberia native Morgann LeLeux became an Olympian

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LeLeux’s American teammate, 2016 silver medalist Sandi Morris, also cleared 4.40. But Morris, according to a tweet from USA Track & Field, “injured her hip when her pole broke and she fell in the box” and did not continue.

A third American, U.S. champion Katie Nageotte, also qualified for the finals.

LeLeux and Nageotte were among 15 clearing 4.55, a group that also includes defending champion Katerina Stefanidi of Greece and Russian world champion Anzhelika Sidorova.

LeLeux, 28, won a Sun Belt Conference championship with UL in her final college season in 2016 after transferring from Georgia, where she won SEC indoor titles in 2012 and 2013 and an outdoor championship in 2014.

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After not making the U.S. team in 2012 and being an alternate in 2016, LeLeux qualified in June by placing second with a personal best of 4.70 at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Morgann nailed it in pole vault on Monday. Matthias Schrader , AP photo.

She won five Louisiana state titles in the pole vault at Catholic High.