Kiwi pole vaulter Imogen Ayris soars to new PB with stunning victory in Finland
Thursday, 4 June 2026
Kiwi pole vaulter Imogen Ayris is on what’s commonly referred to in sport as a heater, improving her PB by 11cm in a notable victory at the Pavo Nurmi Games in Finland.
Just days after her first Diamond League podium in Rabat, the UK-based Aucklander returned to competition in Turku, Finland, early Thursday (NZT) at the World Athletics Continental Tour gold meeting.
And her red-hot hot form continued as the 25-year-old upped her personal best from the 4.70 metres she cleared to finish second in Rabat to 4.81m for a stunning victory, and meet record, in Turku. American Gabriela Leon was second with a best height of 4.56m.
“This feels amazing. I jumped only a couple of days ago in Rabat, so it was a pretty quick turnaround,” reflected a stunned Ayris after one of the most significant results of her career. “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.”
It was not exactly plain sailing for the Kiwi who, after clearing 4.56 and 4.60 at her second cracks, took three attempts to get over 4.71m, and another trio to finally soar over 4.81.
“I was chasing 4.80 for a couple of meets now, and I was really close,” she added. “To finally jump it here, with this amazing crowd, feels really special.”
Ayris will compete in Ostrava next, before heading to the the Commonwealth Games in July. She has now set a target of qualifying for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest in September.
With only eight pole vaulters to line up in Budapest, it all comes down to rankings, with no country limits. The Kiwi is currently sitting in fifth spot after her victory in Turku.
“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.
“New Zealand has a really good pole vaulting history. There’s no pressure for me; it actually motivates me to work even more. 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. It brings the best out of us.”
Ayris’ fellow Kiwi vaulters Eliza McCartney and Olivia McTaggart are lining up at the Rome Diamond League meet early Friday (NZT), alongside shot put supremo Tom Walsh.