Born in
Auckland to a New Zealand father and Finnish mother, Vandy holds a dual citizenship, and chose to represent her mother's birthplace
Finland at numerous sporting events, including the Olympic games. At age ten, Vandy moved with her family to
Vaasa, Finland, where she began pole vaulting at age 13. She eventually became a member of, and trained full-time at Vasa Idrottssällskap, under her personal and head coach Johan Westö. In 2007, Vandy made her international debut at the
European Junior Championships, where she achieved a seventh-place finish in the women's pole vault. She also set her personal best of 4.15 metres by winning the bronze medal at the Finnish Elite Series in
Lahti, ahead of her teammate
Minna Nikkanen, who flew over 4.05 metres. Shortly after the series, she continued to beat Nikkanen at the Sweden-match in
Gothenburg, and most importantly, at the Finnish Indoor Championships in
Joensuu, where she claimed her first ever career title in the pole vault. The following year, Vandy reached her breakthrough season by vaulting her personal best of 4.31 metres at an athletics meet in
Sopot, Poland. In 2009, Vandy extended her personal best of 4.36 metres by finishing second at the Elite World Championships in
Lapua, behind her teammate Minna Nikkanen. She also won the bronze medal at the
European Athletics Under-23 Championships in
Kaunas, Lithuania, with a satisfying height of 4.35 metres. In early 2011, Vandy announced her retirement from pole vault to focus on and pursue her career in filmmaking, having suffered knee problems for the past few years. ==References==