What to know about Katie Moon, Olympic champion pole vaulter who spent two years at UD

Here’s what track and field fans should know Moon:

First Olympics: In 2021, Nageotte, then 30, cleared a height of 16 feet, 1 inch to beat Anzhelika Sidorova, of Russia, and Holly Bradshaw, of Great Britain, who won the silver and bronze, respectively.

Nageotte, a first-time Olympian, became the third American woman to win the pole vault at the Olympics. Jenn Suhr won in 2012. Stacy Dragila won in 2000.

Ohio native: Moon is a 2009 graduate of Olmsted Falls High School, southwest of Cleveland.

Moon won the Division I state championship in 2009 at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, clearing 12-8, which was then a state meet record. She finished second at the state meet a season earlier as a junior.

UD history: As a freshman at Dayton in 2010, Nageotte finished 17th in the pole vault (12-9½) at the NCAA championships at the University of Oregon’s legendary Hayward Field. It was the first time a Dayton vaulter had made it past the NCAA regional. She also won the Atlantic 10 Conference indoor and outdoor championships that season.

As a sophomore in 2011, Nageotte finished second in the A-10 indoor championships and fourth in the outdoor meet.

Ashland history: After leaving UD, Moon won two Division II national championships in the pole vault at Ashland University. She set a school record that still stands (14-6¾).

Moon told the Akron Beacon Journal in 2023 she fell into “a really bad mental spot with vaulting” while at Dayton. She transferred to Ashland for a “change of scenery,” the paper reported.

Personal best: Moon’s vault of 16-2¾ (4.95 meters) is the fifth best in world history. She set that in June 2021 at Hayward Field.

Yelena Isinbayeva, of Russia, set the world record of 5.06 meters in 2009.

Qualifying again: Moon earned a spot on the 2024 U.S. Olympic team by finishing second at the U.S. Olympic trials in June with a vault of 15-6¼.