Ayris soars above pole vault rivals in race for opportunity

Savannah Lendich Jonkers • June 5th, 2026 4:06 pm

Imogen Ayris | Photo: Photosport

Kiwi pole vaulter Imogen Ayris hopes her career-best 4.81m jump will help separate her from a large pool of athletes battling for limited Diamond League opportunities.

The 25-year-old smashed her personal best by 11 centimetres in Turku, Finland on Thursday (NZ Time), also beating the stadium record, just days after finishing second at the Rabat Diamond League.

Ayris told Sport Nation’s Scotty & Izzy on Friday the record-breaking performances could be the difference in securing starts on the world's biggest athletics circuit and elevating her international standings.

"I've kind of been in a group of girls that are all at a really similar PB, similar season's best, similar world ranking, and so getting into some of the Diamond Leagues is really competitive," she explained.

"I'm hoping that putting up that 4.81 and getting second place in Rabat Diamond League really helps secure some starts, hopefully get a shoe contract over the line and hopefully keep moving up the world rankings."

Ayris knew a standout performance was needed, however was unable to clear the jump for several weeks.

"4.80 has been the target now since I've started kind of jumping 4.70 consistently," she said.

"I was really close in the Rabat Diamond League a couple of days earlier, so I went to Turku to really try and get that over the line and get it done."

But the achievement came at a great surprise to Ayris, who was battling extreme fatigue and was therefore forced to change her jumping approach.

"We kind of had to go to plan B because I did have very tired legs and I felt like I was running through mud," she said.

"We were on smaller poles with smaller grips, but just made really smart decisions and built the comp and then it just happened."

Listen to the full interview below: