Lisa Ryzih

Elizaveta Ryzih (born 27 September 1988 in Omsk, Soviet Union) is a German pole vault athlete. Two times an Olympian, she placed 6th in the London and 10th in Rio Olympic Games. She was described by one athletics commentator as a "tall, fast and athletic" pole vaulter. She saw success in European Championships, as well as being a constant presence in the world yearly rankings of pole vaulters, placing among the top 10 vaulters in recent years. She is the younger sister of fellow pole vaulter Anastasija Reiberger (Nastja Ryjikh). She is coached by her father Vladimir Ryzih.

Biography

Junior career Ryzih won at the 2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics and then set a personal best of 4.30 m for gold at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics at the age of 15. She attempted to be the first athlete to win consecutive titles at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Marrakesh, Morocco, but she managed only 4.05 m for fifth place. Ryzih was the favourite to retain her title at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics, but failed to clear the opening height in the final after three attempts.

Ryzih came fourth at the 2007 European Athletics Junior Championships and also won gold at the 2009 European Under-23 Athletics Championships in the women's pole vault in Kaunas, Lithuania. On 30 July 2010, she recorded a personal best of 4.65 m at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, Spain. This gained her the bronze medal, the first international medal of her senior career.

Senior Career Ryzih competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, finishing in joint 6th with a jump of 4.45 m. The following year, she finished in 8th at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, with a jump of 4.55 m. The following year, she missed out on a European level medal by countback, jumping the same height (4.60 m) as both the silver and bronze medalists at the 2014 European Championships. She reached the final, but finished last, at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China. Later, in August, she reached another Olympic final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She participated in 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships meet on 4 March in Belgrade, Serbia, as a top contender and finished second place and getting silver medal with a jump of 4.75m, setting a new indoor personal best.

German Championships Ryzih won 6 titles and some medals in German Athletics Championships (DM) in Pole Vault.

For outdoor, these include: 1st place in 2017 (Erfurt) with jump of 4.70 m; 2nd place in 2016 (Kassel) with jump of 4.65 m; 1st place in 2015 (Nuremberg) with jump of 4.60 m; 1st place in 2014 (Ulm) with a jump of 4.50 m; 2nd place in 2012 with a jump of 4.65 m; 2nd place in 2010 with a jump of 4.60 m; 3rd place in 2009 with a jump of 4.40 m.

For indoor, Ryzih was 1st place in 2017 (Leipzig) with a jump of 4.65 m. She also won the indoor title in 2015 in Karlsruhe with 4.55 m and won the 2011 title in Leipzig with a jump of 4.65 m.

In 2018 indoor national championships, Ryzih finished in second place with a jump of 4.46m. She prepared at a training camp in Spain for the 2018 European Championships in Berlin to be held in the Summer. She announced later that she was skipping the 2018 outdoor season including the European Championships for recovery.

2019 to retirement After healing her partial Achilles tear, Ryzih returned to competition in the Karlsruhe meeting of the 2019 IAAF World Indoor Tour by recording a jump of 4.63 m.

In 2020, Ryzih jumped 4.44 m at the Czech Indoor Gala in Ostrava, Czech Republic. She was due to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, but cancelled for health reasons.

Ryzih retired from competing in August 2022.

Competition record 1No mark in the final 2Did not start in the final