Katerina Stefanidi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Katerina Stefanidi

Stefanidi in 2019
Personal information
Born	(1990-02-04) 4 February 1990 (age 35) Cholargos, Athens, Greece
Height	1.73 m
Weight	59 kg
Sport
Country	Greece
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Pole vault
University team	Stanford University
Coached by	Mitchell Krier
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	4.91 m NR (London 2017) Indoors 4.90 m(i) NR (New York 2016)
Medal record Athletics Representing  Greece Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Championships 1 0 1 World Indoor Championships 0 0 2 Diamond League 4 0 0 European Championships 2 3 0 European Indoor Championships 1 1 0 European Team Championships 2 0 0 Continental Cup 0 1 0 Olympic Games Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Pole vault World Championships Gold 2017 London Pole vault Bronze 2019 Doha Pole vault World Indoor Championships Bronze 2016 Portland Pole vault Bronze 2018 Birmingham Pole vault Diamond League 2016 Pole vault 2017 Pole vault 2018 Pole vault 2019 Pole vault European Championships Gold 2016 Amsterdam Pole vault Gold 2018 Berlin Pole vault Silver 2014 Zürich Pole vault Silver 2022 Munich Pole vault Silver 2024 Rome Pole vault European Indoor Championships Gold 2017 Belgrade Pole vault Silver 2015 Prague Pole vault European Team Championships Gold 2017 Villeneuve-d'Ascq Pole vault Gold 2019 Bydgoszcz Pole vault Continental Cup Representing Europe Silver 2018 Ostrava Pole vault Summer Universiade Bronze 2011 Shenzhen Pole vault European U23 Championships Silver 2011 Ostrava Pole vault World Junior Championships Bronze 2008 Bydgoszcz Pole vault World Youth Championships Gold 2005 Marrakesh Pole vault Silver 2007 Ostrava Pole vault

Katerina Stefanidi (born on February 4, 1990) is a famous Greek pole vaulter. She won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She also competed in the 2012 London and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Katerina was the World Champion in 2017. She also won a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2019. At the European Athletics Championships, she has won two gold medals (in 2016 and 2018). She also earned three silver medals (in 2014, 2022, and 2024).

Indoors, she won two bronze medals at the World Athletics Indoor Championships (in 2016 and 2018). She was the European Indoor Champion in 2017. She also won a silver medal at the European Indoor Championships in 2015.

When she was 15, Katerina became the World Under-18 champion in 2005. She won a silver medal at the same championships in 2007. At 18, she earned a bronze medal at the World Under-20 Championships in 2008. She also won four Diamond League trophies between 2016 and 2019. Katerina Stefanidi is considered one of the greatest female athletes in Greek sports history.

About Katerina Stefanidi

Katerina Stefanidi was born into a family of athletes. Her father, Georgios Stefanidis, was a triple jumper. Her mother, Zoi Vareli, was a sprinter. Katerina's younger sister, Georgia, also competes in pole vault.

In 2015, Katerina married Mitchell Krier. He is also a former pole vaulter and became her coach. She lives in the United States.

Katerina's Amazing Career

Early Years and Junior Success (2005–2010)

Katerina Stefanidi went to the 1st High School of Pallini in Greece. There, she won the National High School Championships. She broke national records for high school pole vaulting. She also won gold at the 2006 Gymnasiade.

As a child, she broke world records for her age group from 11 to 14. When she turned 15, she set a new world best for under-18 athletes. She jumped 4.37 meters. Her first international competition was at age 15. She represented Greece at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Marrakesh. She won the gold medal and set a championship record of 4.30 meters.

At the 2007 championships in Ostrava, she won a silver medal. In 2008, at 18, she earned a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. That same year, she received a scholarship to Stanford University. She competed for the Stanford Cardinal track and field team. She later earned a master's degree in cognitive psychology from Arizona State University.

College and Early Senior Career (2011–2013)

At Stanford, Katerina broke the school's freshman record. In 2010, she became the Pac-10 Conference champion. She also broke the school record multiple times.

In 2011, she placed second at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She defended her Pac-10 Conference title. She also finished third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She won a silver medal at the European Under-23 Championships. She earned a bronze medal at the Universiade. In both events, she jumped a personal best of 4.45 meters.

In her senior year, 2012, she was third at the NCAA Indoors. She won the Pac-12 Conference championship. She broke her own school record with a jump of 4.48 meters. A month later, she became the NCAA champion. Her best jump that season was 4.51 meters. In 2013, she had some injuries.

Rising to the Top (2014–2015)

Stefanidi at the 2014 European Championships in Zürich

In 2014, Katerina improved her personal best indoors to 4.55 meters. Outdoors, she kept improving, reaching 4.60 meters. She represented Greece at the European Athletics Team Championships. She won with a 4.55-meter jump. She then jumped 4.65 meters at the Glasgow Diamond League. One week before the European Championships, she set another personal best of 4.71 meters. This jump tied the Greek national record.

At the 2014 European Championships in Zürich, Switzerland, she won the silver medal. She jumped 4.60 meters. She later won the Birmingham Diamond League meeting. She finished second overall in the Diamond League series that year.

In 2015, she set new personal bests four times indoors. Her best was 4.77 meters, which was a temporary national record. At the 2015 European Indoor Championships, she won the silver medal with a jump of 4.75 meters.

Olympic Gold and World Champion (2016–2018)

In 2016, Katerina set a national indoor record. She jumped an amazing 4.90 meters at the Millrose Games. This placed her among the top pole vaulters of all time. At the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, she won the bronze medal. She jumped 4.80 meters.

In the following months, she kept improving her outdoor record. In Filothei, she set a Greek record of 4.86 meters. In July, at the Amsterdam European Championships, she won the gold medal. She jumped 4.81 meters, breaking the competition record.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Katerina Stefanidi became an Olympic champion. She jumped 4.85 meters. She was the seventh Greek female athlete to win a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games. In September, she won her first Diamond League Trophy.

In 2017, she became the European Indoor champion. She jumped 4.85 meters, a world-leading height. She won the gold medal at the World Championships in London. She broke her own Greek record with a jump of 4.91 meters. Katerina finished her 2017 outdoor season undefeated. She won 14 competitions in a row. She also won the Diamond League final. She was named European Women's Athlete of the Year in 2017.

In 2018, Katerina won more medals. She took third place at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham. She won first place at the Berlin European Championships. She won the Diamond League title for the third year in a row.

Recent Achievements (2019–Present)

In 2019, Katerina won the Diamond League Trophy for a record fourth time. She also won the bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Katerina took part in an online event. It was called "The Ultimate Garden Clash." Athletes had to clear a four-meter bar as many times as possible. Katerina won with 34 clearances. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she finished fourth. She jumped 4.80 meters, matching her best for that season.

In 2022, Katerina won the silver medal at the European Championships in Munich. She jumped 4.75 meters, her best for that season. In 2024, she took second place at the European Championships in Rome with a jump of 4.73 meters. She also competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing ninth.

Katerina's Major Achievements

Glasgow 2019

2019 Birmingham Grand Prix

Katerina Stefanidi in 2020

Munich 2022

International Competitions

Representing  Greece

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Result
2005	World Youth Championships	Marrakesh, Morocco	1st	4.30 m CR
2007	World Youth Championships	Ostrava, Czech Republic	2nd	4.25 m SB
2008	World Junior Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	3rd	4.25 m SB
2011	European U23 Championships	Ostrava, Czech Republic	2nd	4.45 m NU23R
	Universiade	Shenzhen, China	3rd	4.45 m
2012	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	– (f)	NM
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	24th (q)	4.25 m
2013	European Indoor Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	13th (q)	4.36 m
2014	European Championships	Zurich, Switzerland	2nd	4.60 m
2015	European Indoor Championships	Prague, Czech Republic	2nd	4.75 m
	World Championships	Beijing, China	15th (q)	4.45 m
2016	World Indoor Championships	Portland, OR, United States	3rd	4.80 m
	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	1st	4.81 m CR
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1st	4.85 m
2017	European Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	1st	4.85 m WL
	European Team Championships Super League	Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France	1st	4.70
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	1st	4.91 m WL NR
2018	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	3rd	4.80 m
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	1st	4.85 m CR
	Continental Cup	Ostrava, Czech Republic	2nd	4.85 m CR
2019	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, Scotland	4th	4.65 m
	European Team Championships Super League	Bydgoszcz, Poland	1st	4.70 m
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	3rd	4.85 m SB
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	4th	4.80 m =SB
2022	World Championships	Eugene, OR, United States	5th	4.70 m SB
	European Championships	Munich, Germany	2nd	4.75 m SB
2023	European Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	4th	4.60 m
	European Team Championships 1st Division	Chorzow, Poland	8th	4.40 m
	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	–	NM
2024	World Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	7th	4.55 m
	European Championships	Rome, Italy	2nd	4.73 m SB
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	9th	4.70 m

Diamond League Wins

Katerina Stefanidi has won the overall Diamond League pole vault title four times:

• 2016
• 2017
• 2018
• 2019

She has also won individual Diamond League meetings:

• 2014: Birmingham British Grand Prix
• 2016: Rabat Meeting, Rome Golden Gala, Monaco Herculis, London Anniversary Games
• 2017: Doha Diamond League, Rome, London, Birmingham, Zürich Weltklasse, Brussels Memorial Van Damme
• 2018: Lausanne Athletissima, Zürich
• 2019: Shanghai Diamond League, Birmingham, Brussels

See also

In Spanish: Ekaterini Stefanidi para niños