In June, Almaty native Polina Ivanova placed second at an international pole vault competition in Busan, South Korea, once again matching her personal best from last year – 4.00 metres. She shared the details in an interview.
– Polina, how did the competition in Busan go for you? What came easily, and what turned out to be a real challenge?
– The warm-up was tough — it was pouring rain, and the wind was blowing straight into our faces. Everything was soaked: me, my gear, and my mood too got a bit “drenched.” It definitely made it hard to focus and really feel the run-up. Luckily, by the time the competition actually started, the rain eased up, the wind calmed down, and it became much easier to jump. Despite the rough start, I managed to pull myself together and get into the groove — that was probably the biggest challenge of the day.
– What went well? What didn’t?
– I was able to focus and clear the opening heights with confidence. What didn’t go as planned was pushing for my maximum — the level I know I’m actually ready for. During warm-up, the rain was so heavy that, honestly, I didn’t even feel like jumping in that weather. It was hard to switch on from the get-go. I think that’s why I didn’t quite hit the rhythm I needed right away. Still, it was a good experience — fighting through it all the way under such conditions. I also misjudged the pole selection on a crucial attempt, and the wind was messing with my run-up. And honestly, my mindset was more about being “consistent” than about “taking a risk.”
– You’ve been in the sport a while — your first serious competitions were back in 2017–2018. Why do you think it took so long to reach 4.00 metres?
– Most likely, it was all in my head. You’d think — just 10 more centimetres — but they were incredibly tough to achieve. I worked a lot on my technique and physical form, but the biggest obstacles were internal. Then came the long lockdown period, and getting back from that was hard — I lost my rhythm, my confidence, and the return took longer than I’d hoped. But now I understand that every step toward those 4 metres made me stronger.
– What height do you dream of reaching? Where’s your “inner bar”? And what do you need to improve to get there?
– I dream of 4.30+. That’s my internal goal — the one I’m striving for. To get there, I need to improve my technical precision and strength training, and most importantly — not be afraid to try new things. In pole vaulting, fear and doubt eat up centimetres.
