Kate Rooney (born Kate Dennison, 7 May 1984) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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. She is a former British record holder both indoors and out, before both of her records were surpassed by

Holly Bleasdale Holly Bethan Bradshaw (née Bleasdale, born 2 November 1991) is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the pole vault. She is the current British record holder in the event indoors and outdoors, with clearances of 4.87 metres (201 ...

in 2011. Born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' 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 ...

, Rooney came from a sporting family and moved to

Alsager Alsager ( ) is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located to the north-west of Stoke-on-Trent and east of Crewe. The town's population was 13,389 at the 2021 census. ''The Mere'' is a ...

, England, when she was four years old. She first became interested in athletics through

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

. Rooney was selected to compete at national and international levels, finishing fourth in the British Championships, but did not feel passionate about the sport and changed to pole vault in 2000. She became the first British junior athlete to jump 4.00 meters, as she finished seventh at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica. She competed at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

and was the top English performer, finishing seventh overall. Rooney completed a degree in psychology at

Staffordshire University , mottoeng = Dare to know , type = Public , endowment = £70 million (2015) , administrative_staff = 1,375 , chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford , vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones , ...

and turned professional, committing herself full-time to the sport. Following graduation, she moved to be trained by

Steven Rippon Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

at the center of excellence in

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

. Rooney won two outdoor tournaments and five indoor titles in the 2007 athletics season. She competed at her first

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

and was knocked out in seventh place in the second heats but set a new outdoor personal best of 4.40 m. Following this she had surgery on both her

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

, but this did not affect her form in the next season – she broke the national indoor record, beating

Janine Whitlock Janine Whitlock (born 11 August 1973) is an English pole vaulter. Athletics career She represented England in the pole vault event, at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Two years later she represented Great Britain at the 2 ...

's seven-year-old record, with a jump of 4.45 m at the 2009 UK Indoor Championships in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, and bettered that mark by another centimeter at the Birmingham Games a week later. Following a successful indoor season, Rooney broke the British record in June with a vault of 4.51 m at the

Memorial Josefa Odlozila A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

meeting in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Despite the achievement she felt confident of further improvement, setting her eyes on a place in the final at the Berlin World Championships. Another personal best of 4.55 m brought her fourth place in the European Team Championships 2009. After a win at the UK national championships with 4.57 m, she noted the difficulty of the competition she faced in Berlin: several athletes from Germany, Poland, and Russia, including reigning champion

Yelena Isinbayeva Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva ( rus, Елена Гаджиевна Исинбаева, p=jɪˈlʲɛnə gɐˈdʐɨjɪvnə ɪsʲɪnˈbajɪvə; born 3 June 1982) is a Russian former pole vaulter. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2004 and 20 ...

, were in the running for a medal. She recorded 4.55 m in the World Championships final, finishing in sixth place overall. A 4.60 m clearance for third place at the

Pedros Cup The Pedro's Cup is a biannual athletics event of two legs, which features an indoor track and field competition in January or February and an outdoor competition during the European summer period. The first competition of each year since 2005 has ta ...

brought an end to a successful season for the Briton, which had seen her beat the national record nine times over the course of eight months. At the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, Rooney won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the women's pole vault. Since retiring, Rooney has worked in schools and encouraged children's involvement in sport, whilst beginning a further career path in financial services and advice.

Personal bests

Rooney is the British record holder in pole vault indoors, and she previously held the outdoor record. She beat Janine Whitlock's 4.47 m outdoor record in June 2009. She broke the British record nine times in 2009. Her own outdoor record of 4.60m was beaten by

in June 2011, with a jump of 4.70m. *All information taken from IAAF Profile. Retrieved on 24 June 2009.

References

External links

*
Profile
from

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Kate 1984 births Living people English female pole vaulters British female pole vaulters Olympic female pole vaulters Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain British Athletics Championships winners Alumni of Staffordshire University Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games