It's not been long since I last posted the women's PV national records, but I hope I can be excused for doing so now--for two reasons. One is that a crash of Microsoft Entourage took with it two months of my e-mail files, so I don't know just when I last sent an update or what it said. A more important second is that, even this short time into the outdoor season, there have been record changes for 19 of the 116 countries on my list, including the new USA national record and world outdoor best of Stacy Dragila. The third reason would only satisfy any curiosity about the season results, so far, of the three Russians who could be expected to provide Stacy's toughest competition in the Olympic Games.
When I sent the post that noted Dragila's new personal best (4.83m/15'10"), I offered an opinion that the IAAF could not consider the mark as a World Outdoor Record, since they neglected to establish this category when they combined indoor and outdoor bests as a single World Record progression. Subsequently, I've had authoritative advice that this is, indeed, the case. Russia's Svetlana Feofanova remains the World Record holder and the World Indoor Record holder, both from her 4.86m at Budapest on 6 March of this year. The World Indoor Record category still exists, although there is no equivalent (or any) category for an outdoor world best. I guess that means I'm free to choose my own descriptive term. I'll settle for "World All-time Outdoor Best And Way To Go, Stacy!!." Of the three Russians who finished ahead of Dragila on the 2003 outdoor list, only Svetlana Feofanova, the most experienced and most ferocious competitor of this group, has posted a 2004 outdoor result: 4.60m. (I think of this as 15', although it's an inch and a bit higher than that.) Neither Yelena Isinbayeva nor Tatyana Polnova has made an appearence, to date. Two Germans also placed above Dragila in 2003. Annika Becker, recovering from early-indoor-season injuries, had 4.20m last weekend. Yvonne Buschbaum, with 4.70m last year, opened with 4.00 on 29 May. The last of the Russian trio is harder to research, since I'm not sure what name to look for. She appears in the list of national record holders that follows, although you won't find a Tatyana Polnova there. She first appears in my files as Tatiana Tuna Köstem, with 3.90m, representing Turkey, in 1998. In 2000, she had 4.10, indoors, as Tatyana Zaykova, another Turkish national record. In the outdoor 2000 season, her final Turkish record, as Tatyana Köstem, was 4.20m. From 2002, she has vaulted for Russia as Tatyana Polnova, and since that outdoor season never ranked lower than that country's #3. Thanks for the contributions of Gérard Dumas, Carole Fuchs, Heinrich Hubbeling, Mirko Jalava, Doug Lang, Michaelis Nikitaridis, Michel Saint-Raymond, and Michael Starr to this update of the national record list; with apology to any other contributors I may have overlooked. Additions and corrections are, as always, very much appreciated. RR NATIONAL OUTDOOR POLE VAULT RECORDS-WOMEN a/o 2004-06-15 Algeria 3.70 Linda Méziani 2000-05-07 Franconville Andorra 2.60 Lorena Alvarez 2001-06-03 Igualada Argentina 4.43 Alejandra Garcia 2004-04-03 Santa Fe Australia 4.60 Emma George 1999-02-20 Sydney Austria 4.40 Doris Auer 2000-09-17 Gold Coast Belarus 4.05 Yuliya Taratynova 2003-07-17 Bydgoszcz Belgium 4.03 Irena Dufour 2002-07-13 Oordegem Belize 2.40 Kay de Vaughn 2002-05-24 Cd Guatemala Bolivia 2.35 Emily Oliva 2003-03-29 Salta, ARG Brazil 4.10 Fabiana Almeida Murer 2004-04-18 Montevideo Bulgaria 4.45 Tanya Stephanova 2003-06-21 Velenje Canada 4.43 Dana Ellis 2004-05-22 Carson, CA Chile 4.30 Carolina Maurer-Torres 2003-08-09 Santo Domingo China 4.52 Gao Shuying 2001-08-29 Beijing Colombia 4.00 Milena Agudelo 2003-06-29 Barquisimeto Costa Rica 2.70 Maureen Calvo 2001-03-04 Desampa Croatia 3.71 Ivona Jerkovic 2004-06-05 Varadin Cuba 4.20 Katiuska Pérez 2003-05-29 La Habana Cyprus 4.30 Anna Fitidou 2003-06-15 Trikala Czech Republic 4.60 Pavla Hamácková 2003-06-21 Velenje Denmark 4.35 Marie Bagger Rasmussen 2000-09-25 Sydney Dominican Rep 3.15 Leidy Araujo 2003-09-04 Santo Domingo Ecuador 2.92 Erika Lemari 2000-11-30 Machala Egypt 3.51 Sonya Ahmed 2002-03-30 Kansas City MO El Salvador 3.73 Michelle Rivera 2002-05-10 Van Nuys CA Estonia 3.90 Merle Kivimets 2000-07-08 Kaunas Fiji 2.90 Ioawana Vakaloloma 2003-07-08 Suva Finland 4.15 Paulina Sigg 2002-08-07 Munich France 4.51 Vanessa Boslak 2004-06-08 Noisy-le-Grand Georgia 2.70 Ina Narujniak 1996-05-22 Tibilisi Germany 4.77 Annika Becker 2002-07-07 Bochum Great Britain 4.40 Janine Whitlock 2001-07-14 Birmingham Greece 4.41 Georgia Tsiliggiri 2004-06-05 Edessa Guatemala 3.30 Denise Jerez Agueda 2001-09-29 Cd Guatemala Guernsey 2.70 Fiona Ferbrache 1998-08-01 St Peter Port Guinea-Bissau 2.55 Placida Mirolho 2003-06-21 Almada, POR Honduras 2.60 Glenda Aguilar 1998-07-05 Mexico City Hong Kong 2.90 Sharon Kong Yuen Fan 2003-07-13 Hong Kong Hungary 4.53 Krisztina Molnár 2002-09-08 Rieti Iceland 4.54 Thórey Elisdóttir 2004-06-11 Kassel India 3.51 Vazhalipilli Srekha 2003-09-28 Bangalore Indonesia 4.10 Desi Margawati 2002-08-10 Colombo Ireland 3.93 Erin Kinnear 2004-04-24 Mobile Isle of Man 1.90 Voirrey Callow 1995- Douglas Israel 4.00 Olga Dogadko 2002-06-08 Tel Aviv Italy 4.31 Arianna Farfaletti 2002-09-28 Conegliano Ivory Coast 3.20 Dapéa Zaourou 1996-06-02 Annecy Jamaica 3.30 Maria Newton 2000-04-23 Bromley Japan 4.35 Takayo Kondo 2004-05-29 Toyota Jersey 2.50 Alison Youd 1999-05-23 St Clement Jordan 2.50 Basma Achouch 2003-09-08 Amman Kazakhstan 4.01 Yelena Reznik 2000-09-15 Almaty Kenya 2.40 Grace Chelegat 2001-06-21 Nairobi Korea 3.80 Choi Yun-Hee 2004-06-15 Ipoh Latvia 3.73 Rita Obizajeva 2003-05-30 Riga Lithuania 3.71 Edita Grigelionyte 2004-06-04 Kaunas Luxembourg 3.51 Stéphanie Viellevoye 2003-09-09 Rehlingen Madagascar 2.45 Anje Rajaonah 2000-08-27 Antananarivo Malaysia 3.91 Roslinda Samsu 2003-09-06 Kuala Lumpur Mauritius 3.50 Nancy Cheekoussen 2004-03-14 Réduit Mexico 4.00 Alejandra Meza 2003-05-16 Saltillo Moldova 2.40 Anna Tiuricova 2003-05-16 Chisinau Morocco 3.52 Nisrine Dinar 2004-06-12 Rabat Namibia 2.10 Fienie Theron 1998-06-06 Windhoek Netherlands 4.40 Monique de Wilt 2002-08-09 Munich New Caledonia 2.92 Marion Becker 2002-10-26 Nouméa New Zealand 4.40 Melina Hamilton 2003-04-12 Runaway Bay Nigeria 3.00 Victoria Itodo 2003-03-09 Benin City Norway 3.80 Anita Tomulevski 1996-06-11 Gjovik Pakistan 2.33 Ghazala Sardar 2003-01-24 Lahore Papua N. Guinea 1.85 Mathilda Leeong 1998-09-09 Madang Paraguay 2.90 Maria Victoria Palau 1997-08-30 Asuncion Peru 3.55 Karol Borja 1999-06-12 Lima Philippines 3.30 Deborah Sampson 2004-06-04 Manila Poland 4.62 Monika Pyrek 2002-08-23 London Portugal 4.25 Elisabete Tavares 2003-08-27 Daeju Puerto Rico 4.15 Denisse Orengo 2004-03-27 Ponce Reunion 4.00 Béatrice Denis 2000-07-23 Bron Romania 4.22 Gabriella Mihalcea 1999-06-11 Dreux Russia 4.82 Yelena Isinbayeva 2003-07-13 Gateshead San Marino 2.50 Manuela Albani 2002-05-19 Modena Săo Tome 2.20 Nair Varela 2003-06-14 Mafra, POR Singapore 3.10 Christina Loh 1999-07-16 Kuantan Slovakia 3.85 Slavomira Sluková 2003-06-28 Banska Bystrica Slovenia 4.21 Teja Melink 2003-07-26 Conegliano South Africa 4.42 Elmarie Gerryts 2000-06-12 Wesel Spain 4.45 Naroa Agirre 2003-07-26 Arona Sweden 4.51 Kirsten Belin 2002-08-27 Göteborg Switzerland 4.35 Nadine Rohr 2004-06-12 Geneva Syria 2.30 Falak Allou 2001-10-04 Damascus Tahiti 3.00 Lucie Tepea 2001-10-17 Pirae Taiwan 4.10 Chang Ko-Hsin 2003-04-12 Kaohsiung Thailand 3.70 Nampetch Pinthong 2001-09-15 Kuala Lumpur Tonga 2.50 Melesia Mafile'o 2003-02-22 Auckland Trinidad 2.20 Ayana Riviere 2002-06-09 Port-of-Spain Tunisia 4.15 Syrine Balti 2004-05-06 Toulouse Turkey 4.20 Tatiana Köstem 2001-06-04 Tunis Uganda 2.10 Mary Happy 1998-07-18 Kampala Ukraine 4.56 Anzhela Balakhonova 2000-08-08 Linz United States 4.83 Stacy Dragila 2004-06-08 Ostrava Uruguay 4.23 Déborah Gyurcsek 2000-07-23 Cochabamba Venezuela 3.90 Keisa Monterola 2004-04-17 Barquisimento Vietnam 3.90 Le Thi Phuong 2003-10-11 Hanoi Western Samoa 1.50 Hi Fesili 1998-11-30 Apia Yugoslavia 4.00 Slavica Semenjuk 2003-08-01 Kragujevac Zimbabwe 2.60 Margaret Odendaal 2000-
