Elmarie Gerryts (born 25 August 1972 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

) is a retired

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

er from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. She finished tenth at the 1999 World Championships and won the silver medal at the

1999 All-Africa Games The 7th All-Africa Games were held from September 10, 1999, to September 19, 1999, in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. 53 countries participated in eighteen sports. Netball was included as a demonstration sport. The South Africans hosted abou ...

. She represented her native country at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia, where she reached the final but had no valid jumps. A seven-time national champion, she set her personal best of 4.42 metres in June 2000 at a meet in

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

. This is (as of 2023) still the African record.

Competition record

References

External links

* * 1972 births Living people South African female pole vaulters Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for South Africa Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes from Cape Town Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa African Games silver medalists for South Africa African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 All-Africa Games White South African people Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games {{SouthAfrica-athletics-bio-stub