Champion pole vaulter, Illinois native misses at Olympic trials but says the joy is back

Illinois native and professional pole vaulter Emily Grove missed making the U.S. Olympic team by six spots and about one inch, placing ninth in June at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Grove, who has traveled the world competing in pole vault, entered the trials ranked fourth in the U.S. and 18th in the world. It was her fourth Olympic trials.

Grove’s career-best mark is 15-7. She cleared 14-6¼ at the trials. The Olympic qualifying mark is 15-6¼, which all three qualifiers met.

In May, Grove was even closer to the Olympic trials cut off when she won the the Prefontaine Classic, also held at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, with a winning height of 15-2¼.

Despite not making the Olympic team, Grove is focused on the future and feeling good after overcoming injuries she's sustained in recent years.

“I’m healthy, which is the first time in a few years I’ve been this healthy,” Grove said. “It’s bringing some joy back into it. It’s fun.

“I’m faster and stronger than I’ve ever been this year. ... We’re trekking in the right direction.”

Grove will head to Europe next where she plans to continuing competing in the sport she dominated at Pontiac Township High School in central Illinois and eventually the rest of the state.

Where it all started

Before Grove was a star athlete in high school, she was a star athlete in junior high school where pole vaulting first caught her eye.

“I had Phil Hansen before me. He was a little older than me, so I never jumped with him,” Grove said. “I watched him jump. Just knowing some of the things he did looked pretty cool, I wanted to do it.”

Hansen was the Class AA state champion vaulter in 2006. Grove was a seventh grader at the time. The next year, she gave pole vaulting a try.

“I started jumping in eighth grade, but I actually ran the 400 a lot more,” Grove said. “I was kind of serious about that even though that race is hard. And then I started working with (PTHS track and field coach) Corey (Christenson), and I found it to be super fun. I started jumping all the time with the Flying Dragons in Bloomington. That’s where I really turned a corner.”

Grove was a quick learner, placing fourth at the Class 2A state meet in 2009 as a sophomore. She followed that up with a pair of state championships in 2010 and 2011, clearing 12 feet, 6 inches each time.

Good people, common goals

Grove’s next challenge was competing at the collegiate level. She decided on University of South Dakota, a smaller Division-I program with an emerging pole vault program.

While jumping for the Coyotes, Grove earned All-American honors six times, which is tied for the most in Division-I at USD.

In earning All-American honors in the 2013-14 season, Grove placed second overall indoors after clearing 14 feet, 7¼ inches. She also holds the school’s outdoor record at 15-1.

Grove studied exercise science at USD, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2015 and a master’s in 2017. And she's still there, working in the school's financial office while training with Derek Miles and Chris Nilson. Miles competed in the Olympics three times, and Nilson was silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“I found a really good spot to train and surround myself with really good people who have common goals,” Grove said. “I stay pretty routine to jump as high as possible. I have a really good group of people around me.

“Training with Chris is fun. It keeps it lighthearted. We push each other. It’s a good little environment I found myself in.”

Feeling the support

Competing at the highest levels of any sport requires a lot of support.

Grove’s biggest supporters are her parents, Doug and Brenda Grove.

“My Mom and Dad are my biggest fans, for sure,” she said. “Even living far away, we stay in touch a lot. It’s super important to have them.”

Grove said she still gets a lot of support from her hometown of Pontiac, too, especially from her prep coach, Corey Christenson. She also keeps in touch with many of her former classmates as she travels the world in search of titles.

“When I was in high school, I never would have thought I would be going to all the places I’ve been for the sport,” Grove said. “It’s opened up my eyes quite a bit.

“Track and field seems so huge when you’re in it, but it’s also kind of small. You learn and meet the girls you are traveling with all the time. You develop relationships. Traveling with poles overseas is a bit of a nightmare, but I have an agent who is really, really good at getting them there.”

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Champion pole vaulter, Illinois native misses at Olympic trials but says the joy is back