Gemma Tamarit is a name that’s quickly becoming familiar in Spanish athletics, particularly in the pole vault. Still a teenager, she’s already shown flashes of the kind of determination and raw talent that could one day carry her far beyond junior competitions. To understand her promise, you only need to look closely at her performances in the Spanish Indoor Under-18 Championships over the last two years, where her journey has been a mix of setbacks, lessons, and undeniable progress.
Let’s start in 2023. At the time, Gemma entered the championships as the top-ranked athlete in her category. She came in with confidence, carrying a personal best of 1.71 meters. For an athlete her age, that number already marked her as one of the top young jumpers in Spain. On the day of competition, she cleared her way through the earlier rounds, looking steady and focused. But her sights weren’t on simply defending her rank—she wanted more. She wanted to break new ground and push her personal best further.
Her target was 1.76 meters. That bar stood as both a physical obstacle and a mental challenge. Anyone who has followed athletics closely knows that pole vault is as much about psychological control as it is about technique. In those tense moments before a jump, the smallest doubt can creep in. And sometimes, even when everything looks perfect, the outcome isn’t. Gemma gave it her all on that attempt, but in the end, the bar did not fall in her favor. She missed her final jump, and the record she hoped for slipped away. It was a tough ending to the day, especially for a young athlete with high expectations. Yet what stood out wasn’t failure—it was the intent. She wasn’t content to play it safe or to leave her record untouched. She wanted to test her limits, and that hunger says more about her potential than a missed attempt ever could.
Fast forward one year to 2024, and the story looks very different. The stakes were higher, the field stronger, and Gemma no longer walked in as the automatic favorite. Instead, she came ranked third overall. Her personal best had climbed dramatically in the span of twelve months—this time she was coming off a 3.50-meter mark. That alone showed her progress: not just small improvements, but leaps forward in height and confidence.
RAM sticks
During the competition, Gemma once again showed her courage by taking aim at an even greater challenge: 3.60 meters. On her second attempt, she charged down the runway with determination, plant and lift coming in perfect sequence. The crowd watched, caught in that shared moment of anticipation where every detail matters—the height of the pole’s bend, the clearance, the follow-through. It was a glimpse into what she’s capable of when everything comes together.
Though her bid for 3.60 ultimately ended without a successful clearance, it didn’t matter nearly as much as what her progression signaled. From 1.71 meters in 2023 to 3.50 meters in 2024, the numbers tell a story of relentless growth. The Gemma Tamarit who competed in 2024 was not the same young jumper from a year before. She was sharper, stronger, and more seasoned under pressure. And, most importantly, she showed that she belongs among Spain’s top junior athletes.
That’s the beauty of tracking young athletes in real time: you don’t just see the highlights, you see the evolution. Every missed attempt is part of the education, every risk taken is a step toward maturity. Gemma’s trajectory is a perfect example. The athlete who walked away from the 2023 championships without a record-breaking jump is the same athlete who, just a year later, was clearing significantly higher bars and battling her way into the top tier. Growth in sport rarely looks like a straight line—it’s a process of trial, failure, adjustment, and eventual success.
For fans of athletics, watching someone like Gemma is more than just seeing results on a scoreboard. It’s watching the story of potential unfold, one competition at a time. Her drive to push beyond what she’s already achieved is what makes her exciting to follow. She could have settled for staying within the comfort zone of her established personal bests, but instead, she reached for new heights—literally. That mindset, paired with her already impressive results, hints at a future where she could make waves not only in Spain but possibly on the international stage.
As we look ahead to the 2025 indoor athletics season, athletes like Gemma will be the ones to watch. These are the years that shape a career—the hard-fought junior competitions, the lessons learned in missed attempts, the thrill of clearing a bar higher than you ever thought you could. For Gemma Tamarit, the last two championships have already shown us two things clearly: she has the talent, and she has the will. The next chapter will be about how far those two qualities can take her.
So, whether you’re a casual athletics fan or a dedicated follower of youth competitions, keep an eye on Gemma. Her story is still being written, and if her early years are any indication, the best is yet to come.
