Tina Šutej
Šutej at the Union Leichtathletik Gala in Linz in 2017
Personal information
NationalitySlovenian
Born (1988-11-07) 7 November 1988
Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight59 kg (130 lb)
Sport
CountrySlovenia
SportAthletics
EventPole vault
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)4.76 m outdoors (Ljubljana 2021)
4.82 m indoors (Ostrava 2023)

Tina Šutej (born 7 November 1988) is a Slovenian pole vaulter. She won bronze medals at the 2022 World Indoor Championships and 2022 European Championships. Šutej earned a silver at the 2021 European Indoor Championships and again in 2023.

She took silver at the 2006 World Junior Championships. Šutej is the Slovenian record holder both in and outdoors.

Career

Šutej was born in Ljubljana and began competing in athletics at an early age, practising in a variety of events from the age of seven. A change of coach at her local club saw the arrival of a pole vault specialist, who encouraged her to focus on vaulting the high bar.[1] She made her international debut at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics and finished eighth in the pole vault final. Her first medal came the following year as she was the runner-up behind Zhou Yang with a Slovenian junior record mark of 4.25 m.[2]

The next season saw her senior debut at the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships, but she did not progress into the final. Although she won an indoor and outdoor title nationally,[2] she made little progress in her performances in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, in which a fifth place at the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships was her international highlight.[3] She enjoyed success in NCAA competition while studying at University of Arkansas, however, and she was the runner-up at the collegiate outdoor championships in 2009.[4]

The 2010 saw her make improvements as she recorded a national indoor record clearance of 4.46 m in February and went on to claim the national title outdoors with a Slovenian record mark of 4.50 m.[5] She was the runner-up in the First League section of the 2010 European Team Championships and came tenth in the final at the 2010 European Athletics Championships.[2] Her 2011 indoor season saw her undefeated in eight competitions. She won at the 2011 NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship, having improved her best to 4.54 m in the weeks prior to the event.[6] This was an American collegiate record and as a result Track and Field News chose her as its Collegiate Women's Indoor Athlete of the Year.[1] She continued her form into the outdoor season, breaking the outdoor collegiate record and Slovenian mark with a clearance of 4.61 m to win the Southeastern Conference (SEC) title.[7]

Tina Šutej at the 2020 Bauhaus Galan meeting in Stockholm

She competed at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 London Olympics without reaching the final, before reaching the final of the 2014 World Indoor Championship.[2] She competed at the World Championship in 2015, 2017 and 2019 and was a finalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.[2]

After seven years of no improvement, Šutej produced her finest season in 2019, equalling or improving her national record on five occasions, topped by a 4.73 m clearance in Velenje, Slovenia, on 15 September before capping her season at the World Championships where she reached the final.[2]

She improved the national indoor record to 4.74 m indoors and 4.75 m outdoors in 2020. The following year, she tied for fifth at the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games and later improved her national record to 4.76 m in Ljubljana on 16 September.[2]

On 2 February 2023, Šutej set the 30th Slovenian record of her career when clearing 4.82 m for a win at the Czech Indoor Gala held in Ostrava.[8]

International competitions

Representing  Slovenia
YearCompetitionVenuePositionResult
2006 World Junior Championships Beijing, China 2nd 4.25 m
2007 European Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 18th (q) 4.05 m
2009 Mediterranean Games Pescara, Italy 4th 4.20 m
Universiade Belgrade, Serbia 7th 4.25 m
European U23 Championships Kaunas, Lithuania 5th 4.25 m
2010 European Championships Barcelona, Spain 10th 4.35 m
2011 Universiade Shenzhen, China 2nd 4.55 m
World Championships Daegu, South Korea 21st (q) 4.40 m
2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 24th (q) 4.15 m
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 19th (q) 4.25 m
2013 Mediterranean Games Mersin, Turkey 5th 4.30 m
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 10th 4.55 m
European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 10th 4.35 m
2015 European Indoor Championships Prague, Czech Republic 10th (q) 4.55 m
World Championships Beijing, China NM
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 9th (q) 4.45 m1
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 11th 4.50 m
2017 European Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 8th 4.40 m
World Championships London, United Kingdom 15th (q) 4.35 m
2018 Mediterranean Games Tarragona, Spain 2nd 4.41 m
European Championships Berlin, Germany 25th (q) 4.20 m
2019 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 10th (q) 4.50 m
World Championships Doha, Qatar 13th 4.50 m
2021 European Indoor Championships Toruń, Poland 2nd 4.70 m
Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 5th 4.50 m
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 3rd 4.75 m
World Championships Eugene, United States 4th 4.70 m
European Championships Munich, Germany 3rd 4.75 m
2023 European Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 2nd 4.75 m
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 4th 4.80 m

1No mark in the final

References

  1. 1 2 Slovenia's Sutej vaults to a prestigious American accolade. European Athletics (2011-04-27). Retrieved on 2011-04-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sutej, Tina. IAAF. Retrieved on 3 October 2017
  3. EJ Kaunas LTU 16 – 19 July – 7th European Athletics U23 Championships. European Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-03-20.
  4. Sutej, Tina. Arkansas Razorbacks. Retrieved on 2011-03-20.
  5. Tina Sutej. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2011-03-20.
  6. Slovenia's Sutej and Sweden's Leif Arrhenius win NCAA indoor titles. European Athletics (2011-03-14). Retrieved on 2011-03-20.
  7. Tugman, Lindsey (May 16, 2011). "Women's Track & Field: Sutej sets NCAA record, team third". THV. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  8. "Duplantis and Warholm open seasons with world-leading marks". World Athletics. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.