2nd March 2013 06:00
Bleasdale, who has changed coach and is using a new pole following the disappointment of only finishing sixth at last year's home Olympics, thus added to the European U23 title she won in 2011 as she secured Britain's first medal of the European Athletics Indoor Championships.
It was a happy confirmation of talent for the Briton whose effort of 4.77m in winning this year's UK indoor title tops this year's European indoor rankings and stands second in the world rankings.
As the young Briton took in the magnitude of her achievement, leaning over to talk to one of her coaches, Scott Simpson, with the winner's bouquet of flowers clutched in her hand, she was embraced by Britain's team captain Jenny Meadows, who was leaving the track after winning her 800m semi-final in a season's best time.
Bleasdale, whose previous competition, in Stockholm, had seen her having to settle for fourth place after a disappointing best of 4.45m, had faltered in the earlier vaulting after two first-time clearances when she failed at 4.62m and gambled on moving up immediately to 4.67m.
Another failure there meant she faced going out unless she could clear with her next attempt – but she sailed over to keep her event alive.
Rogowska, who had also failed at her first attempt on 4.67m after an earlier failure at 4.52m, also cleared at her second attempt on the height. When the Pole failed in her third attempt at 4.72m, Bleasdale had the opportunity to take gold with a clearance at her final attempt, but could not manage it.
As both had finished the main competition with two failures each they moved into a sudden-death vault-off whereby the bar stayed at 4.72m initially. If both cleared, it would move up; if neither cleared, it would move down, then back up again if necessary.
Rogowska's failure at 4.72 offered Bleasdale an action replay opportunity to win, but once again she could not take it, and the bar moved down to 4.67. Once again the Pole was unable to take advantage, bending the bar as she passed over it, and seeing it dislodge. She lay in momentary dismay on the mat.
Now, for the third time, Bleasdale had the competition at her mercy – and this time she finished it off, sailing clear before rolling over with joy on the mat and emerging from the landing area with a face flushed in triumph.
'I wanted it so badly and the jump-off was so tiring and really drained my energy,' said Bleasdale. 'So I'm so happy I got the gold. I can't explain how I'm feeling now but I'm so confident for the outdoors and the Worlds.'
'I had a hard season, so second is a great victory for me,' said Rogowska, who had no-heighted at two of her four competitions leading to these championships.
The three medallists had emerged at the point when Jirina Svobodova of the Czech Republic had failed on her final attempt at 4.67, leaving Bleasdale, Rogowska and the 21-year-old Anzhelika Sidorova with places on the podium.
When Sidorova, who had set a personal best in clearing 4.62, failed to progress, the destination of the gold medal narrowed to two possibilities.
If Svovoboda had expressed her frustration after missing out on a medal by one place, slapping her hands together as she sat on the mat, there was particular disappointment too for Russia's indoor champion Anastasia Savchenko, who missed a medal by one place at last year's European outdoor championships and who had set a personal best of 4.71 at the Stockholm meeting where Bleasdale had under-performed.
A Swedish crowd eager to celebrate home achievements was busily supporting long jumper Erica Jarder as the pole vault final got underway, but they had been deprived of the continuing presence of pole vaulter Angelica Bengtsson, the 2010 Youth Olympic champion and world junior champion, who had produced a season's best of 4.46m in qualifying but missed out on progression by one place on countback.
As things turned out, however, a Pole and a Briton offered them a competition of compelling drama.