Parnov Wins Silver at Junior World Champs

Published On: 16 July 2012

Liz Parnov won silver before opting out of competition as a precaution for London

London-bound WAIS pole vaulter Liz Parnov (WA) has taken the Australian Spark medal tally to five with a silver medal in the girl’s pole vault on the penultimate day at the IAAF world junior championships in Barcelona.

Advancing through qualifying with a single clearance at 3.95m, Parnov took to the runway for the final just three weeks after injuring her quad.

Entering the competition at 4.20m, the Target Talent Program athlete then passed at 4.25m before a first attempt clearance at 4.30m to move into the outright silver medal position.

Then set to battle it out with gold medallist Angelica Bengtsson (SWE, 4.50m, championship record), Parnov retired as a precaution to ensure additional time for recovery ahead of what will be her first Olympic Games.

Parnov confirmed after the competition that a safety first approach was adopted with the Olympics in mind.

“I tore my quad slightly about three weeks ago and have been literally just recovering in training leading into these championships. Today, after some good medical advice and a really strong recovery we decided to head out and see how the leg held up and luckily for me it did and I’ve come away with a medal,” Parnov said.

“London is just over a fortnight away and that is a dream come true. I want to head to my first Games in the best possible shape I can so I decided to retire tonight and give myself every chance of being perfect for what will be the biggest comp of my life.”

“I’m excited to still win a medal here with an injury that could have seen me out, I feel like Steve Hooker must have in Berlin. I was really nervous that it wasn’t going to work out but it has and that’s a huge confidence boost.”

Australia’s five medal haul equals the total won in Santiago (CHI) in 2000. Santiago and now Barcelona’s tally is the green and gold’s best since we won eight at the 1996 IAAF world junior championships in Sydney (NSW).

Additionally, the boy’s 4x100m relay team placed 5th in the final to move the Australian Spark to 8th on the placing table.

– Athletics Australia