Diva Renatta's Golden Jump Is as High as Her Dreams

Once she successfully won a medal at the SEA Games, Diva Renatta Jayadi immediately brought home the gold in the women's pole vault. Her jump of 4.35 meters, the highest in Southeast Asia and a new SEA Games record, was enough for Diva to avenge her past "grievances" and ignite her motivation to pursue even greater dreams, namely the Olympics.

Diva's tears flowed. This time, they were uncontrollable as she cried while bowing down. The gold medal that this long-time national record holder had been waiting for was finally within her grasp at the women's pole vault competition of the SEA Games Thailand 2025 at Supachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, on Thursday (11/12/2025) evening WIB.

Coaches, fellow athletes in the athletics training camp, and supporters from Indonesia were moved by Diva's performance. They waved the Red and White flag, which was ultimately presented to Diva for her to wave.

"I can't describe how happy I am, but I'm definitely very happy because all my hard work during training, all the crying, until I felt like I was going to run out of breath, has paid off here," said Diva, crying again.

Diva had actually secured the gold medal with a jump of 4.15 meters after initially failing once. No one was able to match or even rival her jump, including the host representative, Khabut Chonthicha, who failed in three attempts at 4.15 meters.

However, Diva feels the need to jump even higher to test the national record that she broke earlier this year while also breaking the SEA Games record at a height of 4.30 meters. Without any obstacles, she achieved it. Her spirit is further ignited, especially as the audience cheers for her.

Finally, after discussing with one of her coaches, Frederick Saputra, Diva set the height at 4.35 meters. Just like in the attempt at 4.30 meters, she completed it flawlessly. The 23-year-old pole vaulter ran, jumped, propelled her body, and landed without touching the bar.

Even after the success that brought tears of joy, Diva actually still wanted to jump 4.40 meters, a height she had achieved multiple times in practice. However, the coach advised her to stop. "If forced, there is a risk of injury. Breaking two records is already exhausting," said Frederick.

Such is Diva. She is a true pole vaulter who wishes to continue breaking boundaries by jumping higher. Likewise, her ambition does not want to stop merely at the SEA Games.

Diva's dream is to qualify for the Olympics, becoming the first Indonesian pole vaulter to do so through qualification. This dream is consistently expressed by Diva, repeatedly, especially when she achieves success.

"I really, really want to qualify for the Olympics; this initial step motivates me to train again and break records once more. Moreover, the national record still belongs to me, along with the SEA Games record. I hope I can reach that goal soon," said the child of former Indonesian pole vaulter Nunung Jayadi and hurdler Dedeh Erawati.

Diva presented the first gold medal for the Indonesian athletics team at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. Remarkably, this gold medal quenches the thirst for a women's pole vault event that has experienced a drought of gold medals for over 20 years.

The last time Indonesia won a gold medal was through the performance of Ni Puti Desi Margawati at the SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2003. In the previous edition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2001, Desi also secured a gold medal.

The gold medal was also Diva's first at the SEA Games. She was truly happy to have overcome a past defeat that had left her curious, irritated, and frustrated, all at once, after returning empty-handed in her two previous SEA Games appearances.

The highest achievement at the SEA Games, along with the record she broke, is a worthy reward for Diva, who has also come back more mature. Not only did she arrive with increasingly higher jumps after breaking the national record of 4.30 meters on March 30, 2025, but Diva was also able to maintain her focus during the competition, unlike in the previous two editions. She admitted to being undisturbed by anything, including the results achieved by her opponents or the slightly windy weather.

During her debut at the 2019 Philippines SEA Games, Diva could only finish in fourth place with a jump of 3.80 meters. Diva was outperformed by the bronze medalist, who will again be her opponent in Thailand 2025, Khabut Chonthicha, with a jump of 4 meters.

Three years later, when she was able to reach a height of 4 meters, Diva was actually ready to surpass her previous achievement. However, Diva was not included in the Vietnam 2021 event held in 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

That opportunity has opened up again at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games as Diva has become more mature. Her abilities have also improved. Moreover, the gold medalist at the 2018 Asian Youth Games has the experience of having recorded a jump of 4.15 meters at the 2022 Thailand Open Championship.

However, in Cambodia, the medal has still not been claimed by Diva. Diva's jump of 4 meters is actually the same as that of Natalie Uy, who ultimately won the bronze. In the event of a tie, the athlete with the fewest failures at that height is declared the winner. Uy recorded fewer failures.

After two editions, Diva finally brought home a medal from the SEA Games. Diva's leap, as high as her dreams, made her the first Indonesian pole vaulter to qualify for the Olympics. The gold medal from Thailand 2025 has spurred her dreams.

Besides Diva, Maria Andriani Melabessy also won a medal for Indonesia in the pole vault. Maria won bronze with a jump of 3.90 meters.

Two silver medals were awarded to Lalu Muhammad Zohri in the men's 100 meters and Putra Wahyudi in the men's 1,500 meters. "This somewhat compensates for the failures in Cambodia 2023 and Vietnam 2021, but of course, I am not satisfied. This is just the best result I could deliver," said Zohri.