Jacqueline Otchere is a German athlete, specializing in pole vaulting, who has achieved remarkable success in her career. She has earned the gold medal of German Athletics Championships twice and German Athletics Indoor Championships once. Notably, her personal best in the pole vault is an impressive 4.60m, which she achieved at the London Athletics World Cup in 2018.
Born on May 5, 1996, in Heidelberg, Germany, Jacqueline Otchere embarked on her athletics journey at a young age, starting at ASV Eppelheim near Heidelberg at the age of eight. Later, she transitioned to MTG Mannheim, where she excelled in sprints and jumps as a student in the U14 and U15 age groups, even making it to the podium of the German Block Championships. Following an injury, she made the switch from sprints to pole vaulting in 2015.
In 2017, Jacqueline Otchere’s determination led her to an 8th place finish at the German Indoor University Championships in Frankfurt-Kalbach. Throughout the year, she showed continuous improvement, achieving a height of 4.30m outdoors. Her efforts culminated in a 5th-place finish at the German Junior U23 Championships in Leverkusen and a 6th place finish at the German Championships in Erfurt. Her accomplishments also led to an improvement in the German ranking, where she secured the twelfth position.
The year 2018 brought even more success for Jacqueline Otchere as she secured 5th place at the German Indoor Championships in Dortmund. In Heilbronn, she clinched the title of German U23 Championships while achieving a personal best of 4.45m, thereby meeting the qualification height for the European Championships in Berlin. Her outstanding performance continued as she soared to 4.60m at the Athletics World Cup in London. Subsequently, in Nuremberg, Jacqueline Otchere excelled to become the German champion, earning the nomination for the European Championships. By the end of the year, she proudly held the title of the best German pole vaulter with a height of 4.60m.
In 2019, Jacqueline Otchere chose to skip the indoor season in order to focus on preparations for the outdoor season. Her long-term plans prevented her from competing at the European Indoor Championships. Nonetheless, during the outdoor season, she achieved a bronze medal at the German Championships.
Unfortunately, she had to miss the entirety of the 2020 season and half of the 2021 season, which ultimately led to her being unable to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, in 2021, Jacqueline Otchere made a remarkable comeback by clinching the gold at the German Championships, as well as winning several other events including the Abendsportfest Kaderathleten, Kaderwettkampf Sprint-Sprung-Hammer, Abendsportfest, Road To Tokyo Vol. II, and Touch the Clouds Summer Jump Off.
Continuing her exceptional performance in 2022, she secured the title at the German Indoor Championships and attained the third position in the pole vault at the German Championships. Notably, she competed at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, finishing in 10th place, and also claimed the gold at the prestigious Hungarian GP Series – Papa.
Jacqueline Otchere has solidified her position as one of the most outstanding athletes and pole vaulters in 2023, winning the pole vault gold at the Stabhochsprungmeeting 2023 and Offene Vereinsmeisterschaften MTG Mannheim.
In 2024, she earned the silver at the CMCM Indoor Meeting and IFAM Gent Indoor, as well as the gold at the Stabhochsprung Stars 2024. She competed at the Roma European Athletics Championships but did not reach the finals. However, she won the silver at the Braunschweig German Championships.