By Hannah Bonnie for DyeStat

EUGENE, Oregon -- Defending Olympic gold medalist and reigning indoor world champion Jenn Suhr continued her dominance in the pole vault by winning the final in the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials with a height of 15 feet, 9 inches. 

Also going to Rio are second-place Sandi Morris, who jumped 15-7, and third-place Alexis Weeks, a 19-year-old from Arkansas who last month became the freshman in history to win the NCAA women’s pole vault.

Over the most of the last decade, Suhr has been the best American pole vaulter. She has won 16 national championships and holds the indoor and outdoor American records, as well as the world record in the indoor. 

But her success added pressure.

“After winning a silver and gold and you come to your third one, I think the thing is just don’t screw up,” she said. “And that’s a different kind of jumping.” 

Suhr decided to pass on the first two heights, which made it difficult for her to stay warm, particularly in the rainy weather.  

“It’s hard to stay warm when you’re wet and you’re out there,” she said. “I really just tried to do that and keep moving around, but it takes a lot of energy.” 

To ensure that she would qualify, in the middle of the meet, she decided to take fewer steps approaching the bar, something that she hasn’t done since she was injured in 2014 when her pole snapped during practice.

“I slowed down to make sure I executed things,” she said. “Glad it worked out.”

Weeks’ performance was a breakthrough. Earlier in the season, she became the fifth collegian to reach 15-1 and the youngest one to do it. On Sunday, the high school national record holder didn’t miss the first four marks, making a personal record during the fourth jump of 15-3. She beat that personal record again on her next jump, finishing with a height of 15-5 before passing on the next heights. 

“Last year, my classmates in high school would say, ‘I can’t wait to see you in the Olympics one day,’ and I kind of shrugged it off like, ‘Oh that’s probably not going to happen,’” said Weeks. 

Weeks is excited to see another former Arkansas athlete going to Rio as well; Morris graduated in 2015. After missing her first attempt at the opening height, Morris did not miss again until the bar was raised to 15-9. Weeks and Morris train together in Fayetteville, Ark.