Another (EHD) Hoo Vaults Onto the US Olympic Team
Bridget Williams, who earned her M.Ed. in higher education at the UVA School of Education and Human Development, will compete in the pole vault at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Photo of Bridget Williams at the U.S. Olympic Trials by Johnny Pace.
The United States Olympic roster continues to add athletes affiliated with the University of Virginia.
The latest American Wahoo to qualify for the Summer Games in Paris is alumna pole vaulter Bridget Williams, who became a national champion on Sunday, winning at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
Williams, after placing 11th in Friday’s qualifying round, made the major jump to first place Sunday, clearing 15 feet, 6 1/4 inches with no misses. She was the only competitor to clear five heights on her first attempt in the final. She only missed the bar when it was raised to 15 feet, 8 1/4 inches.
Williams, the former Bridget Guy, was a three-time All-American at UVA. She received both her bachelor’s (French in 2018) and master’s (education in 2019) degrees from the University. In a UVA Today feature from January 2020, Williams said one of the things she cherished most about her time on Grounds was the experience she had with the School of Education and Human Development.
“I had genuine relationships with my teachers,” Williams said. “They supported me in my meets – they came to the ACC Championship. They’re small things that really mean something to me.”
Williams will make her Olympic debut in Paris. The Games begin July 26 and run through Aug. 11. Other Hoos on the U.S. team include swimmers Alex Walsh, Gretchen Walsh, Emma Weber, Kate Douglass and Paige Madden, tennis players Danielle Collins and Emma Navarro, soccer player Emily Sonnett and equestrian Will Coleman.
Rower Skylar Dahl, a rising senior, and goalball player Matt Simpson, a UVA Law alumnus, will compete in the Paralympic Games, which will also be held in Paris from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.