Sandi Morris after her fall.
Dramatic scenes in the pole vault. Sandi Morris was the gold favorite. Her staff broke, taking away the chance of an Olympic victory.
Bitter tears! The American Sandi Morris had to be driven out of the Olympic Stadium in a wheelchair. The pole vaulter was injured in the competition on Monday after breaking a pole.
The silver medal at the Rio Summer Games hurt the lost chance of gold even more than the injury. After her staff broke, the 29-year-old hit hard on the side of the mat. In the process, she injured herself too badly to be able to go to her actual performance limit.
Morris, who had been traded as a gold favorite, went empty-handed in Tokyo. She wept bitter tears when she left the facility.
Particularly bitter: At the beginning of the competition, Morris had successfully campaigned for himself and her fellow campaigners and had the competition postponed due to rain. This allowed the competition to take place under safer conditions. But that did not prevent her rod breakage.
