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Inducted June 20, 2024

INDUCTION BANQUET PROGRAM STORY — June 20, 2024

Jenn Suhr: She Soared to Great Heights

By Thomas Tarapacki
NPASHF Board Member

Even though she didn’t start training in the event until she was a senior in college, Jennifer Stuczynski Suhr became the greatest women’s pole vaulter in US history.

She won two Olympic medals, gold in 2012 in London and silver in 2008 in Beijing. She became a 17-time national champion. She won gold at the World Championships in 2016 and took silver at the event in 2008 and 2013. She set numerous records and was ranked No. 1 in the world.

Jenn was born to Mark and Sue Stuczynski, grocery store owners in the village of Fredonia, located in Western New York. The grocery store was previously owned by her grandfather.

Jenn attended Fredonia Central School, where she played softball, basketball and soccer. As a senior in 2000, she won the New York State Public High School Athletic Association pentathlon title in 2000.

She went on to Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester NY, where she starred in basketball. As a senior she averaged 24.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, leading the Raiders to the NCCAA national championship game. By the time she graduated, Suhr was the school’s all-time leading scorer.

A Quick Learner

Jenn also took part in track and field events in college such as the hurdles, high jump, javelin and relays, but mainly just to stay in shape. In 2004, as a 22-year-old college senior, Jenn tried her hand at a new sport: pole vaulting. Incredibly, less than a year later, in 2005, she became the U.S. National Indoor Champion. Her first coach was Rick Suhr, who helped her become a national champion in just ten months of training. They married six years later, in 2010.

It took a lot of hard work, but Suhr’s meteoric rise in the pole vault was unparalleled. She won U.S. National Outdoor Championship titles in 2006, 2007, and 2008 while climbing to a No. 2 world ranking. In 2008, she set a U.S. record with a vault of 16’ 1-3/4” and later captured a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.

By 2011, Suhr had risen to the No. 1 world ranking, solidifying her status as one of the best pole vaulters in the world. In 2012 she became an Olympic champion, winning gold London Olympics. Braving difficult weather conditions, she defeated a talented field that included two-time gold medalist Elena Isinbaeva of Russia.

Despite all her amazing performances, perhaps the greatest came at the 2016 Rio Olympics when she didn’t medal at all. The 34-year-old came down with a virus s the day after she landed in Brazil. The illness produced dizziness, chills, fever and vomiting, but Jenn refused to drop out. Even in her weakened state, she managed a seventh place finish.

Postponing Retirement

Jenn had intended to retire from competition after the Rio Games, but changed her mind.  She continued to compete, and even broke meet records at the Prefontaine Classic in 2018. In 2020 she finished second at the U.S. Nationals at the age of 38.

In 2021 Suhr, then 39, attempted to qualify for the US team for the Tokyo Olympics. She was one of the 11 vaulters who qualified to compete for one of the three berths on the American squad. However, she failed to qualify, finishing fifth.

Suhr announced her retirement in June 2022.  She said on social media: “Pole vault unlocked more than I could have wished for and let me experience more than I could have dreamed of. I started pole vaulting as a senior in college, unaware of where this life would lead and provide for me. I will forever be grateful. I say goodbye, not with a heavy heart, but with an enthusiasm I haven’t felt in some time.”

Later she returned to her alma mater, Roberts Wesleyan, to coach young athletes.

Seeking Her Polish Roots

Her pole vaulting career took Jenn around the world, and even to the land of her ancestors. While taking part in the 2014 World Indoor Championships, she did have the opportunity to gain a greater appreciation of her family’s Polish roots.

Suhr spoke to the international press in a teleconference prior to the World Indoor Championships in Athletics held in 2014 in Sopot, Poland. Asked about the special place Poland has in her heart, she responded:

 “Really since I found out that the World Indoors will be in Poland, I started doing some research and talking to relatives. We found out that my great great grandfather, Julian Stuczynski, came over to the US from an area of Russian Poland, I guess near Łomża, with his wife in 1905. It’s interesting to trace the route back and see where my ancestors were from, it’s really been exciting over the past few weeks to do.”

Jennifer Stuczynski Suhr is not only a great athlete, but a person with extraordinary work ethic, perseverance and courage.  She has achieved many honors during and after her tremendous career, and now adds to those with her induction into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.