Adrianne Vangool

Athlete (2023)

Athletics

Pole vault isn't a timed event, but when Adrianne Vangool competed the watch was set.

Watch her run. Watch her plant the pole.

Watch her clear the bar and free fall.

A vault that took her a minute as a senior in Holy Cross High School in 2003 still stands as the provincial high school record 20 years later.

Her bio with the University of Saskatchewan is one for the ages. Adrianne was medallist in pole vault in the Canada West conference championship for five consecutive seasons. She had two firsts and three seconds as a vaulter at university nationals with the Huskies. As a student in the College of Kinesiology she was an academic All-Canadian five times.

Whether it was the Knights of Columbus Indoor Games in the Field House in January or the Harry Jerome Classic at Swangard Stadium in B.C. in July, Vangool was consistent. She kept raising the bar. She won the Canadian junior title for three consecutive years, reaching rare air in 2004 when she set the national championship record.

She was third at the Pan American junior championships in the Barbados. She went to world junior championships in Italy. In the summer of 2005, Adrianne was on Canada's national team for the Francophone Games in Niger and the World University Games in Turkey.

Kelsie Hendry was a three-time Canadian senior champion and a three-time Canadian university champion in pole vault. She trained with Adrianne for almost 10 years.

"She played a crucial role in elevating my training," Hendry said. "More importantly, I know for certain that she made me a better person."