The women's pole vault at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place between August 16 and 18 at the Beijing National Stadium.
The qualifying standards were 4.45 m (A standard) and 4.30 m (B standard).
The final was won by 25 cm by Yelena Isinbayeva, who set a new world record height of 5.05 meters for the discipline. As of 2023, this winning margin remains unmatched.
During the finals, one of the poles which Brazilian Fabiana Murer would use disappeared, causing her to spend 10–15 minutes trying to get it back. The lost time and having to use another pole led her to bad results. Murer complained about the organization, and would only return to China 7 years later at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, this time winning a silver medal.
Records Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
Date Event Name Nationality Height Notes 18 August Final Yelena Isinbayeva 5.05
Results
Qualifying round Qualifying performance: 4.60 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the final. Rank Group Name Nationality 4.004.154.304.404.504.60Result Notes 1 A Yelena Isinbayeva – – – – – o 4.60 Q 2 B Vanessa Boslak – o o o o – 4.50 q, =SB 2 A Gao Shuying – – o o o – 4.50 q 2 B Fabiana Murer – – – o o – 4.50 q 2 B Jennifer Stuczynski – – – – o – 4.50 q 6 A Svetlana Feofanova – – – xo o – 4.50 q 6 A April Steiner Bennett – – xo o o – 4.50 q 8 A Monika Pyrek – – – o xo – 4.50 q 8 B Anna Rogowska – – – o xo – 4.50 q 10 B Yuliya Golubchikova – – o xo xo – 4.50 q 10 A Carolin Hingst – o xo o xo – 4.50 q 12 B Silke Spiegelburg – – xxo o xo – 4.50 q 13 A Naroa Agirre o o o xo xxx 4.40 =SB 14 A Anastasija Reiberger – o xo xo xxx 4.40 15 B Kate Dennison xo xo xo xxo xxx 4.40 =PB 16 B Alana Boyd – – o xxx 4.30 16 B Roslinda Samsu o o o xxx 4.30 =SB 18 B Kelsie Hendry – – xo xxx 4.30 19 A Joanna Piwowarska xo o xo xxx 4.30 19 A Afrodíti Skafída – xo xo xxx 4.30 19 A Sandra-Helena Tavares o xo xo xxx 4.30 22 B Nicole Büchler xxo o xxo xxx 4.30 23 A Marion Buisson o o xx 4.15 23 B Thórey Edda Elisdóttir – o xxx 4.15 25 B Zhou Yang xo o xxx 4.15 26 B Krisztina Molnár xxo o xxx 4.15 27 A Natalya Kushch – xxo – xxx 4.15 27 B Nikoléta Kiriakopoúlou – xxo xxx 4.15 27 A Li Ling – xxo xxx 4.15 27 A Yarisley Silva – xxo xxx 4.15 31 A Alejandra García xxo xxo xxx 4.15 32 A Leila Ben Youssef xo xxx 4.00 32 A Vanessa Vandy xo xxx 4.00 34 B Anna Fitídou xxo xxx 4.00 B Kateřina Baďurová xxx B Erica Bartolina – – xxx WR – World Record / =SB – Equal Season Best / PB – Personal Best / SB – Season Best
Final
The final was held on August 18. Rank Name Nationality 4.304.454.554.654.704.754.804.854.904.955.005.05Result Notes Yelena Isinbayeva – – – – o – – o – xxo – xxo 5.05 Jennifer Stuczynski – – o – o xo o – xxx 4.80 Svetlana Feofanova – o o xo – o xxx 4.75 SB 4 Yulia Golubchikova – o o xo o xo xxx 4.75 PB 5 Monika Pyrek – o o o xo xxx 4.70 6 Carolin Hingst o o o xxo xxx 4.65 SB 7 Silke Spiegelburg o xo o xxo xxx 4.65 8 April Steiner Bennett o o o xxx 4.55 9 Vanessa Boslak o o xo xxx 4.55 SB 10 Fabiana Murer – o – xxx 4.45 10 Anna Rogowska – o xxx 4.45 12 Gao Shuying o xxo xxx 4.45 WR – World Record / =SB – Equal Season Best / PB – Personal Best / SB – Season Best
References