Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris (© AFP / Getty Images)
A pole vault showdown featuring global gold medallists Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris will star at the Millrose Games, the fourth Gold level meeting in the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour, at The Armory, New York, on 11 February.
Not only are Nageotte and Morris training partners and friends, they are also two of the best pole vaulters in the world.
Nageotte won Olympic gold in Tokyo and went on to become world champion on home soil in Oregon, clearing 4.85m to win ahead of Morris on countback.
Morris, meanwhile, now has a total of three world outdoor silver medals to her name and she also finished runner up at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. She claimed her first world indoor gold in Birmingham in 2018 and retained that title in Belgrade this year ahead of Nageotte.
“The Armory is one of the best facilities in the country with some of the highest jumps on American soil,” said Nageotte. “I'm excited to come back and jump there!”
With an outdoor PB of 5.00m and an indoor best of 4.95m, Morris sits third on both world all-time lists, while Nageotte is fourth on the outdoor list with 4.95m and fifth on the indoor list with 4.94m. In 2020, Morris made the decision to switch coaches, joining Nageotte in being guided by US record-holder Brad Walker. The two athletes are based in Atlanta, training together as they push each other to new heights.
The Millrose Games is the fourth of the seven meetings that in 2023 will make up the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series. The season starts in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 27 January before stops in Boston, Torun, New York, Lievin, Madrid and Birmingham.
The women’s pole vault is among the scoring disciplines on the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold for 2023. Each athlete’s best three results will count towards their overall point score. The athlete with the most points in each scoring discipline at the end of the tour will be declared the winner and will be awarded a USD$10,000 bonus. They will also be offered a wild card entry for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.
For further information on the Millrose Games, visit the event website.
Organisers for World Athletics
2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold calendar
27 Jan – Init Indoor Meeting, Karlsruhe, Germany
4 Feb – New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston, USA
8 Feb – ORLEN Copernicus Cup, Torun, Poland
11 Feb – Millrose Games, New York, USA
14 Feb – Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, Lievin, France
22 Feb – World Indoor Tour Madrid, Madrid, Spain
25 Feb – Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, Birmingham, UK
Full calendar of all Gold, Silver, Bronze and Challenger World Athletics Indoor Tour meetings
