Tori Pena
Pena on 28 April 2012
Personal information
Born (1987-07-30) 30 July 1987
Los Alamitos, California
Height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight126 lb (57 kg)
Sport
Country Ireland
SportAthletics
EventPole Vault
Achievements and titles
Personal best4.60 m (2013)

Victoria "Tori" Peña[1] (born 30 July 1987[2]) is a pole vaulter with dual American and Irish citizenship who competes for Ireland in IAAF competition.[1][3]

Early life

Peña was born in Los Alamitos, California.[2] Her father's family are of Mexican extraction, and her maternal grandmother Angela McCoy (née Coyle) was born in Derry.[1] Peña lives in Huntington Beach, where she graduated from Edison High School.[2][4] In 2003, she competed in Killarney at the World Irish Dancing Championships.[1] She earned a degree in International Development Studies[1] from the University of California, Los Angeles, and competed for the UCLA Bruins,[2] although frequently hampered by injuries.[5] Her Irish grandmother made her eligible for Irish citizenship,[3] and in June 2010 she acquired dual citizenship, declared her intention to compete for Ireland, and registered with Finn Valley Athletic Club in County Donegal.[1]

Irish career

Peña's personal best of 4.35 metres (14 ft 3+1⁄2 in) was set shortly before she had acquired Irish citizenship, but was sufficient to qualify for the pole vault at the European Athletics championships in Barcelona.[1] In July 2010 won the Irish national championships at Morton Stadium with an Irish record of 4.15 metres (13 ft 7+1⁄2 in),[3] which she equalled in Barcelona.[6] At the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships she set an Irish indoor record of 4.35 metres (14 ft 3+1⁄2 in),[7] which she increased to 4.45 metres (14 ft 7 in) in 2012.[8][9] At the San Diego Triton Invitational on 27 April 2012 she set an outdoor Irish record of 4.52 metres (14 ft 10 in).[10] This qualified her for the 2012 Olympics, in the qualifying round of which she failed at the opening height of 4.10 metres (13 ft 5+1⁄2 in).[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 O'Riordan, Ian (10 July 2010). "Ireland's newest recruit vaults into action". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Player Bio: Tori Pena". UCLA Bruins. UCLA. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 "Pena vaults to Irish record win". BreakingNews.ie. 10 July 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  4. ↑ Miller, Jeff (29 March 2012). "Her Irish Is Up". Huntington Beach Wave/Orange County Register.
  5. ↑ "Pena Breaks Irish National Pole Vault Record". UCLA Bruins. UCLA. 14 July 2010. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "Pole Vault Women: Results; Qualification" (PDF). European Athletics Championships. European Athletics. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  7. ↑ "Pole Vault Women" (PDF). European Athletics Indoor Championships Paris, France 4–6 March 2011 Results. European Athletics. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Pena Sets New Irish Pole Vault Record". AI. 22 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Pole Vault Results". ucsspirit.com. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "Pole Vault Results". directathletics.com. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  11. ↑ "Women's Pole Vault Qualifying". 2012 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
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