The Olympic fifth-placer clears 4.81m in Germany for the best-ever clearance by a British athlete outdoors

Holly Bradshaw continued her preparations for next month’s IAAF World Championships in London by improving her own British outdoor pole vault record.

Clearing 4.81m at the Stabhochsprung Meeting in Rottach-Egern, Germany, the Rio 2016 Olympic fifth-placer added a centimetre to the previous national outdoor record she had set at the Arcadis Great CityGames Manchester in May.

Like the CityGames event, the Stabhochsprung Meeting was also not in a traditional stadium setting, with the action taking place by the Tegernsee lake, with the landing area on a platform over the water.

After entering the competition at 4.45m, which she cleared on her second attempt, Bradshaw also went over 4.55m on her second try. Heights of 4.65m and 4.73m were cleared on her first attempts before she soared over the winning and record height on her second attempt.

The 25-year-old then had three unsuccessful attempts at 4.90m, which would have been an overall British record improving on Bradshaw’s best of 4.87m cleared indoors in 2012.

“4.81 NR MR SB!” she later wrote on Twitter. “What a brilliant meet – thanks for having me! Always believe in the process!”

USA’s Katie Nageotte cleared a PB of 4.73m for second, while Germany’s Lisa Ryzih was third after clearing the same height.