Former USD pole vaulter Emily Grove wins this weekend as she prepares for Olympic trials

VERMILLION, SD (Dakota News Now) -And then there’s Emily Grove, the former USD pole vaulter who’s also 31 and she’s not ready to hang it up yet.

She went to the Préfontaine competition this weekend right after spending time with us on Thursday where she won with a season best jump of 4.63 meters.

And after suffering an Achilles injury a few years ago, Emily is fully recovered and feeling really good about her jumping.

Former USD pole vaulter Emily Grove says, “I’m pretty internally motivated, I would say. I would say I’ve gotten better every year and I’m going a little faster every year when I’m healthy. I spent a few years there, from 2020 to 2022, almost where I had Achilles problems. So that took me away from the sport a little bit and in 2022 I went out and set a personal best. So I said to myself, it’s always there, this kind of thing.

As evidenced by his victory this weekend. Emily will be competing in the Olympic trials for the fourth time and the timing couldn’t be better.