Stacy Dragila facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Stacy Dragila

Dragila at the 2005 Reno Pole Vault Summit
Personal information
Birth name	Stacy Renée Mikaelsen
Born	(1971-03-25) March 25, 1971 (age 53) Auburn, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (1.72 m)
Weight	137 lb (62 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Pole vault
Club	Nike, Beaverton
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Pole vault: 4.83 (2004)
Medal record Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney Pole vault World Championships Gold 1999 Seville Pole vault Gold 2001 Edmonton Pole vault World Indoor Championships Gold 1997 Paris Pole vault Silver 2004 Budapest Pole vault

Stacy Renée Mikaelson known as Stacy Renée Dragila (born 25 March 1971) is a former American pole vaulter. She is an Olympic gold medalist and a multiple-time world champion.

Early life

Stacy Dragila standing in front of her photographic statue while being inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame

Dragila was born and raised in Auburn, California, northeast of Sacramento. She participated in gymnastics but had to give it up due to childhood asthma.

She attended Placer High School where she played volleyball and competed on the track team as a sprinter, hurdler, and jumper. She was coached by Yuba Community College's John Orognen. She competed in the 300 meters hurdles at the CIF California State Meet, but didn't place. In 1990, she placed second at the Golden West Invitational in the 400 meters hurdles.

She graduated from Idaho State University in 1995. At ISU, she competed in the heptathlon. She was introduced to pole vaulting by her coach, a former vaulter himself, and she participated in some of the earliest sanctioned women's pole vault competitions.

Pole vaulting career

Dragila won the women's pole vault competition at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials. Women's pole vault was a demonstration event at the Trials, and it was not included in the program of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

In March 1997, she won the pole vault competition at the Indoor World Championships and set her first indoor world record, 4.48 m (14 ft 8 in). At the 1999 outdoor World Championships, she again won gold and set her first outdoor world record, 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in). Over the course of her career, she set or tied the indoor world record 8 times and set or tied the outdoor world record 10 times.

After winning the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials and resetting the world record at 4.63 m (15 ft 2 in), she won the first women's pole vault Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Stacy Dragila accepting her induction into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame

The World Championships in 2009 was Dragalia's final major championship. She finished with a jump of 4.25 m (13 ft 11+1⁄2 in), not progressing to the pole vault final.

While she jumped 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) at age 37, her 4.55 m (14 ft 11 in) vault at age 38 in 2009 was the ratified W35 Masters World Record until 2017.

In 2014, she was elected to the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. A combined high school/collegiate indoor track and field invitational, the Stacy Dragila Open, is held annually at Idaho State University.

International competitions

National titles

• USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
  • Pole vault (9): 1996^†, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
• USA Indoor Track and Field Championships
  • Pole vault (8): 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004

^† The 1996 contest was a non-championship event

Personal

Stacy divorced Brent Dragila in 2006.

She lived in San Diego, California, and is the founder of Altius Track Club.

Stacy now lives in Boise, Idaho, where she owns and coaches at a premier indoor/outdoor pole vault facility, Dragila Vault Co.

She married American discus thrower Ian Waltz and welcomed daughter Allyx (an alternative spelling of the standard 'Alex') Josephine Waltz on June 21, 2010.

See also

In Spanish: Stacy Dragila para niños