Jenn Suhr’s goals went from defending her gold medal to just getting out of bed to compete in Rio.
The 2012 Olympic champion in the women’s pole vault, Suhr became “sicker than I have ever been” once she arrived in Brazil in what she’s calling “a blurred nightmare”.
Suhr finished tied for 7th in Rio after clearing 4.6m, which is still impressive considering 4.75 won her gold in London, though she had aims of hitting 4.9.
Gold winner Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece cleared 4.85, the same height as American silver winner Sandi Morris. The bronze distance was 4.80, won by New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney.
Suhr hails from Western New York, whose populace likes to view itself as the most blue of blue collar types, and she lamented her position in saying, “Western New Yorkers are tough, we are workers, and we don’t quit. We give 100% even if we aren’t.”
Read the full statement below. We want to give her a high-five and tell her we understand, and that she should feel no shame.