# Tina Šutej

Tina Šutej (born 7 November 1988) is a Slovenian pole vaulter. She is a World Indoor Championships and European Championships bronze medallist, three-time European Indoor Championships silver medallist and European Games silver medallist. Šutej earned the bronze medal at the 2022 World Indoor Championships and 2022 European Championships, and the silver medal at the 2021, 2023 and 2025 European Indoor Championships and the 2023 European Games.
Šutej is a four-time Olympian and competed at the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. At junior level, she earned a silver medal at the 2006 World Junior Championships. Šutej is the Slovenian record holder both in and outdoors.

## Career

Šutej was born in Ljubljana and began competing in athletics at an early age, practising in a variety of events from the age of seven. A change of coach at her local club saw the arrival of a pole vault specialist, who encouraged her to focus on vaulting the high bar. She made her international debut at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics and finished eighth in the pole vault final. Her first medal came the following year as she was the runner-up behind Zhou Yang with a Slovenian junior record mark of 4.25 m.
The next season saw Šutej make her senior debut at the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships, but she did not progress into the final. Although she won an indoor and outdoor title nationally, she made little progress in her performances in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, in which a fifth place at the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships was her international highlight. She enjoyed success in NCAA competition while studying at the University of Arkansas and was the runner-up at the collegiate outdoor championships in 2009.
The 2010 saw Šutej make improvements as she recorded a national indoor record clearance of 4.46 m in February and went on to claim the national title outdoors with a Slovenian record mark of 4.50 m. She was the runner-up in the First League section of the 2010 European Team Championships and came tenth in the final at the 2010 European Athletics Championships. Her 2011 indoor season saw her undefeated in eight competitions. She won the women's pole vault event at the 2011 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, having improved her best to 4.54 m in the weeks prior to the event. This was an American collegiate record and as a result Track and Field News chose her as its Collegiate Women's Indoor Athlete of the Year. She continued her form into the outdoor season, breaking the outdoor collegiate record and Slovenian mark with a clearance of 4.61 m to win the Southeastern Conference (SEC) title.
Šutej competed at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 London Olympics without reaching the final, before reaching the final of the 2014 World Indoor Championship. She competed at the World Championship in 2015, 2017 and 2019 and was a finalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
After seven years of no improvement, Šutej produced her finest season in 2019, equalling or improving her national record on five occasions, topped by a 4.73 m clearance in Velenje, Slovenia, on 15 September before capping her season at the World Championships where she reached the final.
She improved the national indoor record to 4.74 m indoors and 4.75 m outdoors in 2020. The following year, she tied for fifth at the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games and later improved her national record to 4.76 m in Ljubljana on 16 September.
On 2 February 2023, Šutej set the 30th Slovenian record of her career when clearing 4.82 m for a win at the Czech Indoor Gala held in Ostrava.

## International competitions

Representing  Slovenia :
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Result |
| 2006 | World Junior Championships | Beijing, China | 2nd | 4.25 m |
| 2007 | European Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 18th (q) | 4.05 m |
| 2009 | Mediterranean Games | Pescara, Italy | 4th | 4.20 m |
| 2009 | Universiade | Belgrade, Serbia | 7th | 4.25 m |
| 2009 | European U23 Championships | Kaunas, Lithuania | 5th | 4.25 m |
| 2010 | European Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 10th | 4.35 m |
| 2011 | Universiade | Shenzhen, China | 2nd | 4.55 m |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 21st (q) | 4.40 m |
| 2012 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 24th (q) | 4.15 m |
| 2012 | Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 19th (q) | 4.25 m |
| 2013 | Mediterranean Games | Mersin, Turkey | 5th | 4.30 m |
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 10th | 4.55 m |
| 2014 | European Championships | Zurich, Switzerland | 10th | 4.35 m |
| 2015 | European Indoor Championships | Prague, Czech Republic | 10th (q) | 4.55 m |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | — | NM |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 9th (q) | 4.45 m$^1$ |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 11th | 4.50 m |
| 2017 | European Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 8th | 4.40 m |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 15th (q) | 4.35 m |
| 2018 | Mediterranean Games | Tarragona, Spain | 2nd | 4.41 m |
| 2018 | European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 25th (q) | 4.20 m |
| 2019 | European Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 10th (q) | 4.50 m |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 13th | 4.50 m |
| 2021 | European Indoor Championships | Toruń, Poland | 2nd | 4.70 m |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 5th | 4.50 m |
| 2022 | World Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 3rd | 4.75 m |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, United States | 4th | 4.70 m |
| 2022 | European Championships | Munich, Germany | 3rd | 4.75 m |
| 2023 | European Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 2nd | 4.75 m |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 4th | 4.80 m |
| 2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | – | NM |
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 19th (q) | 4.40 m |
| 2025 | European Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn, Netherlands | 2nd | 4.75 m |
$^1$No mark in the final