Victoria "Tori" Peña is an Irish American

Irish American

Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...

/Mexican American

Mexican American

Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...

 pole vault

Pole vault

Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...

er,

Biography

She was born in Los Alamitos, California

Los Alamitos, California

Los Alamitos is a small city in Orange County, California. The city was incorporated in March 1960. The population was 11,449 at the 2010 census, down from 11,536 at the 2000 census...

. Her father's family are of Mexican extraction, and her maternal grandmother Angela McCoy (née Coyle) was born in Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

. Peña lives in Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach, California

Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...

, where she graduated from Edison High School

Edison High School, Huntington Beach

Edison High School is a secondary school located in Huntington Beach, California which first began operation in 1969. It is a part of the Huntington Beach Union High School District.-History:...

. In 2003, she competed in Killarney

Killarney

Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...

 at the World Irish Dancing

Irish stepdance

Irish stepdance is a type of performance dance originated in Ireland from traditional Irish dance, characterised by solo dancers who dance with hands by their sides and upper body stiff, making quick, intricate movements of the feet, often with a troupe. Irish stepdancing was popularized by the...

 Championships. She earned a degree in International Development Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

, and competed for the UCLA Bruins

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...

, although frequently hampered by injuries. Her Irish grandmother made her eligible for Irish nationality, and in June 2010 she acquired dual citizenship, declared her intention to compete for Ireland, and registered with Finn Valley Athletic Club in County Donegal

County Donegal

County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

. Her personal best of 4.35 metre was set shortly before she had acquired Irish nationality, but was sufficient to qualify for the pole vault at the European Athletics championships

2010 European Athletics Championships – Women's pole vault

The women's pole vault at the 2010 European Athletics Championships was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on 28 and 30 July.-Medalists:-Records:-Schedule:-Qualification:...

 in Barcelona. In July 2010 won the Irish national championships at Morton Stadium

Morton Stadium

Morton Stadium, or the National Athletics Stadium, is an athletics stadium in Santry, in the north of Dublin City. Often called Santry Stadium, it is the centre for athletics events in Ireland, and home track of Clonliffe Harriers. It was home to Sporting Fingal FC...

 with an Irish record

Irish records in athletics

The following are the national records in athletics in Ireland maintained by Athletics Association of Ireland .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distanceA = affected by altitudea = aided road course according to IAAF rule 260.28...

of 4.15 metre, which she equalled in Barcelona.
5 March 2011 she set Irish indoor pole vault record (4.35).

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