Jillian Schwartz (born September 19, 1979) is an American-born female former

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

er who competed internationally for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. She represented the United States at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

and competed at five consecutive

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

from 2003 to 2011. Her best placing in international competition was fourth at the

2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004. A total off 139 countries were r ...

. She competed at the NCAA Championships while at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and gained

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honours on three occasions. Although she never won at a

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and 1 ...

Championships event, she took the runner-up spot on three occasions at both the USA Outdoor and USA Indoor Championships. Her personal best mark is 4.72 m, set indoors in

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro () is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, Craighead County. In 2023, the city had an estimated population of ...

in 2008. After gaining Israeli citizenship in 2010, she set Israeli records of 4.60 m in the pole vault both outdoors and indoors and competed for Israel at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

and

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Career

Early life and college

Born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, she was raised in Lake Forest. She wanted to take up pole vaulting at Lake Forest High School, but was not allowed as the girl's pole vault was not permitted in Illinois until 1997. She moved to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

in order to train in the discipline. Schwartz attended

and became the first woman to win an

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from ...

title for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

in 1999.Jillian Schwartz

. Retrieved on January 27, 2011. The following year she won the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) pole vault title and came third at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship. She attended the United States Olympic Trials for the first time in 2000, but failed to register a height.Roth, John (June 23, 2008)
Roth: Schwartz Aims For Second Olympics
Duke Blue Devils. Retrieved on January 27, 2011. In her final year at Duke, in 2001, she set university records of 4.10 m indoors and 4.32 m outdoors, as well as winning the ACC outdoor and indoor titles. She claimed second place at the NCAA Outdoors and signed with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

that summer, deciding to turn professional.

Olympic and World Championship competition

She was the runner-up at the 2002

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships i ...

behind Mary Sauer and improved her outdoor best to 4.50 m. However, she only managed tenth place at the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

that year. She placed sixth at the 2003 USA Indoors but rebounded with a second-place finish at the outdoor nationals. This gained her a place on the team for the

2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the streets of Paris and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, F ...

and she came eighth in the qualifying round of the vault.Schwartz, Jillian

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on January 27, 2011. The 2004 season proved to be her breakthrough year as she was runner-up to Stacy Dragila at the USA Indoor Championships and then placed fourth at the

, vaulting a personal best mark of 4.60 m. She achieved the same mark outdoors to take second at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic is a track and field meet held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and ...

and was runner-up to Dragila at the 2004 Olympic Trials, securing her first Olympic berth. She cleared 4.30 m in the qualifying rounds of the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, but this was not enough to make the final. Schwartz did not compete indoors in 2005 but managed to finish in the top three at the USA Outdoors. One of three Americans in the women's pole vault at the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics (, ), under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first ...

(along with Dragila and

Tracy O'Hara Tracy, Tracey, or Tracie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tracy (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname, also encompassing spelling variations Places United States * Tracy, C ...

), she finished second in the qualifying but could not repeat her form in the final round, ending up in eleventh place. She became the Voluntary Assistant Coach for the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

track and field team in 2008. She was the runner-up at both the national outdoor and indoor championships in 2006 and improved her best by a centimeter to 4.61 m in

. She competed at the

2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olympic Stadium (Moscow arena), Olimpiyski Sport are ...

, but did not make it into the final on this occasion. She also made appearances on the 2006

IAAF Golden League The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Athletes who won specific events at all of the series meetings were awarded a jackpot prize ...

circuit Her progress stagnated in 2007 as she failed to clear higher than 4.50 m. Still, she took third place at the USA Outdoors and competed at the 2007 World Championships, where she achieved her season's best of 4.50 m in qualifying. She started 2008 with a big personal best indoors in Jonesboro, improving 12 cm with a clearance of 4.72 m. She was again the runner-up at the USA Indoors, this time behind Jennifer Stuczynski. At the

2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7–9, 2008. Bid Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Rus ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain, she was eliminated once again at the qualifying stage. She set her sights on making the team for the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and had podium finishes at the Reebok Grand Prix and the Adidas Track Classic. However, she came fourth at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials, being beaten by the less-established April Steiner Bennett and Erica Bartolina. She came fourth at the 2009 USA Outdoor Championships, but was gifted a place at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

as the reigning US Champion Stuczynski withdrew due to injury. Schwartz vaulted 4.50 m at the championships in Berlin, just missing the qualifying mark by 5 cm.

Move to Israel

She competed at the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games (), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Poli ...

and won the pole vault

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

for the United States. Officials approached her about a possible move to compete for Israel and she agreed, seeing it as a better chance to participate at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

given the strong competition for a place in the United States.Jillian Schwartz wants to compete for Israel
All-Athletics (December 17, 2009). Retrieved on January 27, 2011. She gained Israeli citizenship and switched nationality in preparation for the 2010 season. She set an Israeli record mark of 4.60 m indoors in Jonesboro in May 2010 and then set an outdoor record of 4.60 m to win at the

Adidas Grand Prix The USATF New York Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting held at Icahn Stadium in New York City, New York. The event was part of the IAAF Grand Prix from 2007 to 2009. For 2010 it was promoted to the top-level Diamond League through 2015. ...

Diamond League meet. She won her first national title at the Israeli Athletics Championships in June. Other performances that year included at win at the Vardinoyiannia and runner-up at the

London Grand Prix The London Athletics Meet, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games and London Diamond League, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix even ...

Diamond League. In the 2011 season she cleared 4.50 m early in the season and won at the

2011 European Team Championships The third European Team Championships took place on 18 and 19 June 2011. The Competition was divided between four divisions, with results determining promotion and relegation between them. The Super League event was held in Stockholm, at the Stock ...

3rd League, but she did not reach higher as the year progressed, finishing second at the national championships and being eliminated in qualifying at the

. She opened 2012 with a win at the U.S. Open Track and Field in January in a season's best of 4.52 m. Again her early performances remained the best of the year, as she finished eleventh at both the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of fo ...

and

2012 European Athletics Championships The 2012 European Athletics Championships were held in Helsinki, Finland between 27 June and 1 July 2012. This edition marks the beginning of a new two-year cycle of the European Athletics Championships which were previously held every four years. ...

. She did, however, manage to win her second national title and make her Olympic debut for Israel at the 2012 London Games, competing in qualifying only. She retired from the sport after the Olympics.

International competitions

National titles

* Israeli Athletics Championships **Pole vault: 2010, 2012

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Jillian Living people 1979 births Sportspeople from Lake Forest, Illinois Track and field athletes from Illinois American female pole vaulters Israeli female pole vaulters Olympic female pole vaulters Olympic athletes for Israel Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships athletes for Israel Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games medalists in athletics Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Duke Blue Devils women's track and field athletes Jewish track and field athletes American emigrants to Israel 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American sportswomen