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Defending pole vault champ fights off sickness to move on

FILE - In this July 10, 2016 file photo, Jenn Suhr clears the bar during the women's pole vault final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene Oregon. The American pole vaulter qualified for the finals of her event Tuesday at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but not after fighting through dizziness, chills and a fever _ all part of a virus she caught the day after she landed in Brazil. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) FILE - In this July 10, 2016 file photo, Jenn Suhr clears the bar during the women's pole vault final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene Oregon. The American pole vaulter qualified for the finals of her event Tuesday at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but not after fighting through dizziness, chills and a fever _ all part of a virus she caught the day after she landed in Brazil. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

By Associated Press August 16, 2016 2 min read

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – The world-record holder never showed.

The highly ranked Brazilian is gone.

Another Olympic pole vault gold medal should be a sure thing for defending champion Jenn Suhr, right?

It’s never that easy.

Suhr qualified for the finals of her event Tuesday, but only after fighting through dizziness, chills and a fever – all part of a virus she caught the day after she landed in Brazil.