Imogen Ayris
New Zealand pole vaulter (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Imogen Ayris (born 12 December 2000) is a New Zealand athlete who competes in the pole vault. She won the bronze medal in the pole vault representing her country at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 12 December 2000 Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Pole vault | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Takapuna Athletic and Harrier Club | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| National finals | Pole vault (2018, 2020, 2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests |
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Medal record
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Biography
Ayris was born in Auckland on 12 December 2000,[1][2] the daughter of Barny and Bridget Ayris.[3] She was educated at Takapuna Grammar School, and studied exercise science at the University of Auckland.[4]
Ayris began competing in athletics as a six-year-old at the Takapuna Athletic and Harrier Club, but also was a promising gymnast, representing New Zealand in an international event against Australia.[3] She took up the pole vault when she was 13 years old, coached by Jeremy McColl. She finished third in the pole vault at the national secondary schools championships six months later,[3] and won the national junior title at the 2015 national athletic championships.[5] In 2016, aged 15, she became the youngest female New Zealand athlete to clear four metres.[3] In 2018, Ayris won both the national under-20 and senior national pole vault titles,[5] and she subsequently won the national title again in 2020 and 2021.[6]
Ayris represented New Zealand in the pole vault at the 2018 IAAF World Under-20 Championships, finishing 19th, with a height of 3.95 m.[7] The following year, she competed at the Athletics at the 2019 Summer Universiade, where she placed equal tenth in the pole vault, recording a height of 4.11 m.[8] At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Ayris cleared 4.45 m to win the bronze medal in the pole vault,[9] despite competing with a fractured bone in her foot.[10]
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Ayris cleared 4.50 metres but did not qualify for the final.[11]
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she placed twelfth overall, clearing a personal best 4.60 metres.[12]
Ayris was a finalist at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September 2025, placing tenth overall with a clearance of 4.45 metres.[13]
Ayris jumped a lifetime best of 4.70 metres whilst competing indoors in Caen, France, on 30 January 2026.[14] In Ferbruary she improved to 4.76 metres at the All Star Perche, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting, in Clermont-Ferrand, France.[15] The following month, Ayris won a bronze medal at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland, sharing it with Angelica Moser and Amalie Svabikova, with the three having identical records.[16]
