Kiwi vaulter Imogen Ayris smashes personal best for stunning victory in Finland

Thursday, 4 June 2026

Kiwi pole vaulter soars to new heights at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland.

Pole vaulter Imogen Ayris improved her personal best by 11cm, clearing 4.81m to secure a victory in Turku, Finland.

Her height of 4.81m set a new meet record at the Paavo Nurmi Games, following a second-place finish of 4.70m in Rabat just days prior.

The victory moves the UK-based Aucklander into fifth spot in the rankings as she chases qualification for the eight-athlete World Athletics Ultimate Championships.

Ayris is scheduled to compete next in Ostrava before heading to the Commonwealth Games in July.

Kiwi pole vaulter Imogen Ayris has improved her personal best by 11cm to claim a notable victory and meet record at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland.

New Zealand pole vaulter Imogen Ayris has secured a best-career finish on the world stage after placing second at a Diamond League meet in Rabat.

Ayris, 25, upped her personal best from the 4.70m she cleared earlier this week in Morocco to 4.81m to take a stunning victory in Turku.

The Aucklander returned to competition early Thursday (NZT) at the World Athletics Continental Tour gold meeting, just days after her first Diamond League podium in Rabat.

'This feels amazing,' Ayris said.

'I jumped only a couple of days ago in Rabat, so it was a pretty quick turnaround. I had tired legs, and I was tired. We had to kind of go to plan B today, and I was not expecting to jump a PB, especially based on how the warmup went.'

She took three attempts to get over 4.71m, and another three to finally soar over 4.81m. American Gabriela Leon finished second with a best height of 4.56m.

'I was chasing 4.80m for a couple of meets now, and I was really close,' Ayris said.

'To finally jump it here, with this amazing crowd, feels really special.'

Ayris, who will compete in Ostrava next before heading to the Commonwealth Games in July, has now set a target of qualifying for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest in September.

With only eight vaulters to line up in Budapest, qualification comes down to rankings with no country limits. The victory in Turku puts her in fifth spot.

'I wasn’t expecting to jump 4.80m by now, so I will just try to keep building from here and see where it will take me,' she said.

Ayris said New Zealand had a really good vaulting history, which motivated her to work even more rather than creating pressure.

'It is amazing to have three athletes making consistently global finals and all pushing each other to be better and to fight for the spot in the team,' she said. 'It brings the best out of us.'

Fellow Kiwi vaulters Eliza McCartney and Olivia McTaggart are lining up at the Rome Diamond League meet early on Friday (NZT), as is shot putter Tom Walsh.