July 4, 1997 - Preparing for Another Journey 
Here We Go Again
Coincidentally I begin this tale on the same day, one year later, that I
started my cross country drive to Atlanta to serve as a coaching technician
for the athletes in their last month of preparation for the Centennial Olympic
Games. Those experiences left an indelible imprint but also served as a
motivation for me to step out of the coaching role and again into that of
an athlete. Welcome aboard the "Dream Chase".
The Goal(s)
On Saturday July 12, my wife, Kay, and I leave for Durban, South Africa
to compete in the World Masters Track & Field Championships. The largest
international gathering of athletes outside of the Olympic Games, nearly
6,000 competitors from 70 countries will convene and participate in five
year age groups beginning at age 35 for women, and 40 for the men. I will
compete in the M40-44 pole vault and Kay will compete in the W45-49 long
jump and the 100m dash. Yes, you read that correctly, Kay IS competing.
You may recall in my report from the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships back in Boston in March, that upon leaving the arena after winning my first national championship since 1976, Kay asked what event I thought she could try in South Africa. Her logic was simple; "I've never tried any event, anyone can enter, and it will be a great way to spend some additional time together while getting in shape for the summer". She has progressed quite nicely and even won a couple of medals in the local meets. The obvious question is how can she stand to be coached by her slave-driving husband. Besides being life partners, we are also business partners, so she has a pretty good handle on the controls. Suffice it to say that I am very proud of this "young 40 something" making such a commitment and seeing the results.
In a perfect world, all would be accomplished, but to get any goal out of sequence will certainly assure a collapse of the machine. As you will see later, it takes quite a machine indeed to prepare for this opportunity. For Kay the goal is even more simple (since she has never been to such a large competition), make it past the first round in the 100 meters and make the final in the long jump.
The Real World
With all of that said, let's face the harsh reality of relative "fossils"
such as ourselves reaching any level of athletic success. As I type this
report I am lying with my left hamstring (muscle group behind the back of
your thigh) on a seemingly always present bag of ice, the result of a strain
on Monday June 30, a mere 22 days away from the most important challenge
since leaving the elite level in my 20's. Even worse, I will not even vault
in practice until "D-day". Not very settling to say the least.
My rationalization - I won the national championship in March only 13 days
after a cortisone injection to the same leg and now I have 21 days. The
games we play on ourselves. I guess perception IS reality. By the way Daily
Pilot Sports Editor, Mr. Roger Carlson, I'll have to cancel that photo shoot
on the 10th since I can't vault. Photos enclosed.
Diet has also been a major factor beginning with no Lite beer or wine after Labor Day (10 months now) of 1996. A friend told me that if I was serious about reducing weight and bodyfat, I would have to observe a "zero tolerance" alcohol policy. It was explained to me that it wasn't the wine itself, but what I would let myself eat after consuming even small amounts. I love burgers, pasta, pizza, and all of those great foods. I controlled my appetite at first by eating whatever I wanted on Wednesday and the weekends. That worked great until it was time to really buckle down for the last 30 days. My friend was right as I only lost about 10 pounds but my bodyfat has dropped under 9%.
To add to that, for better or worse, I have chosen to take you all with me through each agonizing and uncertain moment. At the Olympic Games I served as your informed tour guide whereas now I will bare my vulnerable soul to you. In a way I guess you could say that even though the letters on my jersey read "USA", I am representing the great spirit of our community and Daily Pilot readers. It will be very difficult for me to share these feelings without you being a member of the team - so please consider yourself sworn in. To give you an example of this anxiety, I chose not to tell you about my build up and preparation for our USA Track & Field National Championships because I didn't know how to deal with the reporting had I been injured or performed poorly. Instead I chose the easy way out by writing AFTERWARD, an easy chore since I won. This time you're along for the whole bumpy ride and I pledge to you that you WILL experience any and all anxiety, pain, or joy that I experience beginning with that total of 21 hours of flight time.
Logistics and Transport
I'm sure that you realize that this is not like packing for a sunny vacation.
The two biggest differences are that it is winter in South Africa and I
have some lengthy baggage that won't quite make the overhead bin. In fact
I can tell you from experience that check-in at the airport is not a friendly
experience for anyone. Once on the way to a meet in the Olympic Stadium
in Mexico City, I paid a baggage handler $20 to make sure that my poles
got on the plane. Mission accomplished except that when they arrived, they
were cut in half. I guess he figured that I was serious about getting them
on the plane. For this trip we (a few other vaulters) will airfreight them
for $1,000 roundtrip and split the cost. Expensive but insured and hassle
free from door to door.
This time of year the high temperatures in Durban are in the mid 70's, the lows are in the mid 50's, and the humidity is about 80%. As I compete at 3:30PM on July 22, and my Internet sources tell me that sunset that day will be at 5:18, I know that it will be dark, damp, and cold when we finish. This certainly presents a formidable obstacle as old bodies get stiff between attempts even in warm weather. Not to mention the dampness will play havoc on our ability to grip the pole, a pretty important safety issue.
Well enough for now, as I will have plenty more to add to these thoughts as the act unfolds. In summary, I'm laying on a bag of ice for an injury only one day after the fourth painful cortisone injection (three different body parts) of the year, can't vault until the actual World Championships, yet I'm somehow peaceful and totally confident that I will do well. WHY? Find out in he next installment. Trust me - I have a plan and you're in on it. Even better, we will have a reasonable idea of its success before I ever get on the plane next week.
Thank you in advance for your support. By the way, I hear we are going to an absolutely beautiful country. I can be reached during the trip by email at polevaulter@compuserve.com.
July 10, 1997 - The Injury
When I first realized that I was in trouble and about to be injured, I had
already committed to leaving the ground on my sixth vault of the practice.
From the time I felt and heard the snap behind my left leg, until the moment
I landed in the foam rubber landing pit below seemed to be an eternity.
During my fall I questioned if I would land safely or on the ground, then
wondered how Kay would react, if I should still go to South Africa, and
several other unprintable emotions as I awaited the physical verdict I would
learn once my body came to rest.
To my surprise, I didn't feel a sharp or jarring pain as I landed on the foam rubber on my side. As I remained motionless, somewhat afraid of the pain I might feel if I moved, the sun felt very hot and I was comfortable, almost as if I were relaxing on the beach. My friend and coach, Dave Johnston, who coached the Silver and Bronze Medallists in the 1984 Olympics, broke the silence with his Arkansas draw by saying, Wwweeelll? Unaware that I had just strained my hamstring, he just wanted (demanded) to know why I hadn't completed a perfectly good vault. I got up and though knew I was injured, was happy that I could walk. In fact, if I went slowly I wouldn't even limp. Years in the physical therapy business instinctively sent me in search of ice. For the next six hours I iced and elevated my leg while taking megadoses of Ibuprofen. Of course I first made my appointment for the next morning with my physician.
Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Glen Almquist has been in Orange for over 30 years and has worked with far too many pro and elite athletes to mention. Most every major pole vaulter has seen him at one time or another because he fully understands the imbalances created within our bodies in this contortionist event. He takes great care to explain my many problems to me in detail, which allows me to educate other athletes. According to him, I didn't really pull my hamstring; I irritated the thin layer over it called the "fascia". If the muscle were represented by a piece of rope, the fascia would be a Kleenex tissue over the top of it that contains the blood supply, and the nerves, hence my pain. In his opinion, this injury wasn't as serious as the last time because there was no bruising. That's good news.
In addition, Corona Del Mar Chiropractor, Dr. Jake Pivaroff has been working on my hamstring daily with his high tech invention, the Deep Muscle Stimulator (DMS). With his help my flexibility and healing is about a week ahead of schedule. I took two-time Australian Olympic team pole vaulter, Simon Arkell, over with me yesterday before his vault session. He too couldn't believe how fast natural flexibility returns to the muscle without the abrasion of deep tissue massage. That is some awesome machine. Again, this is a reflection of the caliber of people and resources available in our dynamic community.
Demands of Sport
A friend recently commented that it seemed that I was injured a lot. I can
understand that perception, but in reality most of these problems are somewhat
minor annoyances caused by falling just on the wrong side of the fence on
which you're trying to balance; usually resulting in a two day training
adjustment and then back to the schedule. The pole vault by nature is a
very ballistic, "all or nothing" effort, even in practice. Like
all sports, acceleration is the key. How effective could you be in golf,
tennis, softball or any other sport if you slowed down through your event?
Obviously not very. Athletic power is the ability to deliver maximum force
at a the highest speed in the shortest time. Since our bodies can't tolerate
this consistently at a high level, we must practice by repetition at a lower
level. However even at this reduced demand, a great deal of force is still
delivered because of the speed of acceleration is increased.
Preparation and the Plan
After 1,200+ vaults this year, I am ready to vault in the World Championships.
At the UC Irvine Masters meet in late May where I cleared (4.30 meters)
14' 1 ¼" and then made 14' 7", I said that technically
I will be no more ready in July than I was then. I also commented that I
would train in a maintenance mode and "just not do anything stupid
to get hurt". Though the jury is still out, I'm happy to say that in
all likelihood I will be physically ready as the injury has responded well
to early treatment and doesn't seem to be as serious as first thought. Of
course I'll know more by the end of Friday's session, but for now I'm comfortable
as I can be with my state of affairs.
Because I don't want to risk further injury by vaulting before the competition, I will do a lot of visualization and light drills with an oversized training pole. Like a baseball player that weights a bat, I work with a pole three feet longer and about 10 pounds heavier than the one I will use in competition. When I was packing my poles for shipment today they felt very small and easy to handle. These are the types of confidence edges I'm looking for. Also I can't help but remember that in Atlanta I saw the great Ukraine pole vaulter, Sergey Bubka, have the most incredible vault session ever, only to withdraw from the Olympic Games five days later because he had flared up an injury.
. In addition, I've put myself through many "what-if tests" this season to duplicate any condition that I may face. I've vaulted in the rain, in headwinds; competed without a warm-up, and started at high heights on a pole I've never used. These are mental toughness games that can payoff anytime, but especially if you can't practice for three weeks.
When you have trained for a specific event or sport for an extended period of time, it is only natural that you may lose some of the sharpness. Usually after a short break, the athlete will come back with much greater precision in skill execution. That's what I'm counting on in South Africa. The problem that accompanies this technical windfall is that, since you have not been active in your event, your endurance is curtailed. The bottom line is that as an athlete you may be very good after a layoff, but not for long. Because physical therapy is comprised of a number of strength and endurance exercises, I have been using this time to increase my strength, speed, and endurance, without vaulting.
Competition Strategy
I know that on the surface, endurance doesn't seem to be a major factor
in the pole vault, but for my 3:30PM competition I will warm-up around 2:00
and will complete the competition around 8:00 in the evening. Here's how
a meet works. The final field of 12-16 participants will begin at a relatively
low height of maybe 10' (metric equivalent). Each competitor has three attempts
at every height. If you miss three times consecutively, you're out of the
meet. You don't have to attempt all heights and may "Pass" until
the bar gets higher. The higher ranked vaulters (and I) will probably enter
the competition around 4 meters, which is 13' 1 ½". Because
I haven't jumped in three weeks I may even take a few "confidence vaults"
at the lower heights.
The bad news is that the bar is going up only 10 cm (4") at a time from 10' on, and everyone has three attempts. The sun will set at 5:18 and the dark and dampness will follow. It's very possible that I will warm-up in 75-degree weather and enter the competition in the wet and cold (55 degrees) three hours later.
Parting Thought
I am absolutely ready mentally and feel/hope that I will be physically.
Am I afraid of the uncertainties ahead and the potential of failure and
disappointment on any one of many fronts? Again, ABSOLUTELY. I don't know
any intelligent person who is not afraid of failure. But you must never
be afraid of success. Work hard and expect it. At this point we've passed
all of the tests, bring on the final.
July 16, 1997 - Alive and Well
Rumors of our demise on all fronts have been greatly exaggerated. Jet lag,
as well as electrical and telephone connections have kept us from getting
our communications on track. In fact I am sending this from a public telephone
service center and do not currently have access to email due to slow and/or
busy connections to CompuServe. And after our last hard training sessions,
Kay and I are both in very good health and ready for the challenges ahead.
The Trip
The flight for Kay and me was, as one would wish, uneventful. I can't say
quite the same for a few of our USA teammates. Gary and Christel Miller,
from Glendale made their connection to our group in New York, but not until
after an emergency landing in North Carolina to seek medical attention for
an in-flight heart attack victim. Two guys from opposite ends of the country,
who were assigned each other as roommates, met for the first time in the
airport in Johannesburg only to find that they had something else in common
- NO LUGGAGE. Jeannie from Westchester had been on Durban time for a few
days before we left and had requested special meals like dinner at breakfast
etc. And 71 year old pole vaulter and long jumper, Johnnye Valien, had just
learned that her travel partner and fellow competitor would not be attending
due to a stroke last week. This all before we landed in Durban.
The City and Venues - Durban, South Africa
We arrived at our hotel, the 23 story Holiday Inn South Beach at 9PM, some
27 hours after our flight left LAX. As it was dark, we were pleased to go
right to bed but also were anxious to see what this foreign land had to
offer.
The first thing I noticed from our window the next morning seemed very much like home with clear skies and a beautiful blue (Indian) ocean. One gentleman informed me that the water temperature is 66 degrees and the shark nets are still up. How comforting to know. I soon found that our hotel was one of about 30 high rise hotels in the area, which contribute to the make up the Durban skyline. A leisurely walk down the boardwalk appeared as if the entire Balboa Fun Zone had been moved into one long line. There was music playing, and people jogging, skating, and lounging on the beach. The Gunston 500 World Surfing Championships began yesterday to add even more international flavor to the area. With the exception of Kay, I now have only a 50/50 chance of being on the elevator with a person that speaks English. Warm-up suits reflecting national representation are so diversified that I am reminded of my experience at the Olympic Games. Of the nearly 6,000 competitors from 70 countries, only 319 represent the USA.
Another reminder of the Olympic Games is the security. During athletes check in this morning, we had to show credentials to get our credentials and were then individually led to each successive check-in station. On a search for my poles (sent last Tuesday and still aren't here!), I was stopped at every turn and asked to repeatedly, in detail, explain why I felt I needed access to certain areas. By the way, all of the South Africans we have had contact with have gone out of their way to be friendly to foreigners. It's almost like being around a group of sincere Eddie Haskel's. They are over polite and are very happy to accommodate you. Good sense of humor too.
The facilities themselves are beautiful and the organization appears to be first rate. I noticed that the pole vault landing pits were set up for the wrong wind direction. By the time we got over to the practice stadium twenty minutes later, they were already changing them to the correct direction.
Kay looked very sharp in her final hard session on Monday and I was able to sprint and jump off of the ground at 100% in my final hard practice today. We both have a light session tomorrow as the event begins. Kay is first up with a very busy day on Saturday with the long jump at 1 PM, 100m prelims at 4:45, and the Opening Ceremonies at 6. I will have a light practice again on Sunday followed by my competition at 3:30PM on Tuesday the 22nd.
Closing Thought - Why are Masters Programs so Popular?
Fitness was supposed to be a fad that would pass the way of the pet rock
and bell-bottom pants. Americans I believe have always been goal oriented.
When looking good and being healthy was no longer enough motivation, we
set up new challenges for ourselves. Look back at the great Jack LaLane
birthday feats. When I was a kid I thought 40 was old, but in Masters competitions
those birthdays are celebrated because you are now the youngest in your
five year age group. I noticed in the M45 pole vault and the M40 high jump
that 1976 Olympic Champions Slusarski and Wyzola from Poland are here.
The event we are attending is the largest international event of it's kind outside of the Olympic Games. So what's next, Masters Olympics? As strange as that may sound, Nike will attempt to do so next year when the "Nike World Games" are to be held with competition in 40 sports (swimming, golf, tennis, rowing, etc.) at venues around the Pacific Northwest. Will I be there? Of course! I turn 45 two weeks before the games begin.
July 18, 1997 - Persistent Rain & Still
No Poles
I have been tracking the weather in Durban for some time now via the Internet.
I've noticed that when it rains, it seems to go on for several days before
returning to clear again. Last night it started raining and has shown no
signs of stopping nearly 24 hours later. We were going to go to the stadium
and watch the decathlon pole vault to assess wind conditions at the time
that I compete (3:30 PM), but chose not to risk illness by sitting out in
the rain. Three of my competitors are in the decathlon also. In fact, many
great decathletes like the legendary Bob Richards and Bruce Jenner started
as pole vaulters because it is a difficult event to learn and the skills
needed are also used in the other events. Besides we have a full day with
Kay's competition and the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow. I'm very excited
to share this experience with her.
If you weren't certain that this was a world class event, you need only to watch the first heat of the first event, the decathlon 100m where an 85 year old man from Finland ran just over 14 seconds. We watched in amazement as our USA team was assembled in the stands for a meeting. Team Manager, Sandy Pashkin, from New York, updates us daily to schedule or procedure changes and handles any complaints we may have regarding just about anything. She is very authoritative and informed, which is perhaps why members of other country's teams and, in today's case, local television cameras, flank the perimeter of our section. Her assistant, Ed Kousky, from Eugene, Oregon said that our biggest problem has been a language barrier; a unique concept in an English speaking country. He said that "some of the organizing staff" was difficult to understand, and to compound the problem, had no interest in listening.
You may remember from Atlanta what the "day of competition" procedures are like. Just as in the Olympic Games, we represent the United States via USA Track & Field (national governing body) and the competition is sanctioned and run by the IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Foundation). Tomorrow Kay will compete in the long jump at 1:00 and the 100m prelims at 4:45. To participate, she must sign a declaration of her intent to compete no sooner than 7:00AM and no later than two hours before the event begins. Though entries were confirmed last month, all athletes must "declare" to be allowed into the competition stadium. As a group, an official leads the competitors onto the field exactly 40 minutes before the start of their event. She is affixing her number to her uniform as we speak. I will of course provide a full report of the day.
Other News - STILL NO POLES!
I have received a fax and had several telephone conversations with the airfreight
carrier (who guarantees second day delivery) of my vaulting poles. At the
10-day mark, the only information we have is that the poles are in Johannesburg,
but no one seems to know where. Compounded by the fact that is raining,
and may still be by Tuesday, not having your own poles is a very big deal.
That is precisely why we chose to spend a small fortune to assure their
safe arrival. I knew I was in trouble when the General Manager asked me
when I needed the poles for competition. When I said Tuesday, he uttered
an expletive. Let's just say I was more than a little upset. I returned
his expletive in question form and then firmly inquired why two weeks should
be a problem when I paid for guaranteed delivery in two days. He will be
in touch. I think he may wish he hadn't given me his home and cell phone
numbers to reach him over the weekend.
I got off the phone and immediately called my teammate's room, a nice guy from Kansas City, Charlie Barnard, to inquire about the sizes of his poles. It was a long shot because he is about 20 pounds lighter than I am and our poles are rated by length and body weight. Fortunately the biggest pole he brought is roughly the same size as my small practice pole; so that's a start. I will go to the stadium tomorrow and see what poles are on loan from the different manufacturers. I met Charlie in Boston where he placed second to me at nationals. He was a calming force today when he said, "I don't care if it's raining spears, we are going to find you some poles and kick some butt on Tuesday". I believe him, how about you?
You've probably figured out that I don't care if my poles arrive or not at this point. You would be partly correct, but in my mind, they will not be here and I must adapt to that scenario. I must also consider that it may rain. I absolutely have to retain my mental focus and not allow an outside situation to expend precious emotional energy; energy that I will need later in the form of adrenaline. Then if it's sunny and the poles show up, great.
I really don't understand how I'm feeling right now. I come off of an injury which hasn't allowed me to vault in three weeks, my poles haven't (and may not) arrive, and it's raining outside, yet I still feel very confident that I will have a good performance. I must be crazy. Whatever it is, don't shake me out of it until it's over. Now it's time to focus on Kay.
July 20, 1997 - Competition Time - One down
and One to Go
We were surprised on Saturday morning by the return of sunshine and warm
weather after 24 hours of torrential rain. Kay especially was pleased as
she was scheduled to compete at 1:00 PM. Everything went smoothly on our
part throughout the morning until it was time to check in to the "call
room", where Kay was to report for the long jump at 12:20. Our foolish
selves, we went to Stadium Two where she was supposed to compete, only to
be told to got back to Stadium One (200 meters) to the main call room. This
makes absolutely no sense on paper, or as it turns out, in the real world.
She waited outside the call room gate for thirty minutes, they called her
in where she sat for twenty minutes, and then officials walked the group
over to Stadium Two, and sat them in that call room (the original one we
reported to) for another ten minutes.
Once her group of the 24 semifinalists was introduced to the crowd and led onto the field, she expected a 40-minute, long jump specific warm-up. What she got was two practice jumps, which she could only take when her competition number was called. This is a very tall order even for a seasoned veteran. I asked her later how she felt to compete in a world championship. She described the sensation as being surreal. "I'm on the field with these elite athletes, looking into the full stands, and feeling like I was watching the event on television, and then my number is called. I just went down and jumped, but it all felt very strange." And jump she did, exceeding her personal best mark by 11.5" on her first jump. Her second jump was a little off but the third would have been another personal best had she not just barely stepped over the takeoff board. She didn't make the final, nor did she expect to, but she also didn't get last, which was a small victory. The winner was a former Russian Olympian.
My assessment as a personally biased, but athletically objective observer, is that she is some incredible person. She sat in the stands in Boston at National Indoors in March, having never tried an event and said, "I can beat some of those people, and besides, I might get in shape along the way". Four months later she competes in the World Championships and under all eyes, from the elite to the spectator, she jumps further than she ever has before. I'm extremely proud and impressed on all fronts. I later agreed that she should withdraw from the 100m as the schedule delays would have given her no time to recover from the long jump.
Opening Ceremony
It was only fitting that after such a personally stellar performance, that
Kay should be in good spirits for the opening ceremony later that night.
We arrived at the team meeting place about 6:30 in the evening and began
our march onto the field about 8:00. Many of the teams had individual members
that dressed up in outfits reflecting their national heritage while the
rest wore team uniforms. A lot of the groups sang songs and did choreographed
dances within their groups, and this was before we marched in. It's overwhelming
and difficult to describe how you feel when the announcer says, "please
welcome the athletes from the United States of America", and you begin
to walk into a stadium where the capacity crowd was cheering louder and
louder as you approach. Once in the stands, but before we were seated, a
man was chasing his little boy who was sprinting down the bleachers to see
the Americans. He was thrilled when Kay gave him one of our little USA flags
to wave. It was fantastic end to a long but perfect day.
July 21, 1997 - STILL NO POLES!!!
Though I had accepted the reality that our poles may not arrive, I still
held out hope for a Monday delivery. One of my training partners, Villa
Park resident, Dan Borrey and his wife arrived last night. It is his poles
that are in the same bag and lost with mine. His company, which originated
the shipment, has a commercial account with the carrier. Now I've had nearly
a week to come to grips with this situation but he arrived last night and
immediately went into a type of shock, playing the "what if" scenarios
that we have already discussed. Even worse, the carrier assured us this
morning that they have absolutely no clue where the poles are, or even if
they are in Africa.
I won't bore you with the details of why poles are different, but suffice it to say that all five manufacturers think that their design should be the standard, so there is no correlation between poles. They all act and react totally different. There are some poles on loan to the competition that we can (have to) borrow, but would those be poles made by our manufacturer? Of course not, they are made by the only non-US company. Until today, I had never even seen that type of pole and am certainly not impressed, as it is too fat and heavy. Here's a good example. You can drive your friend's car without practice, but you probably would not enter it in a race, especially the Indy 500. With that in mind let's assume that the strange car we have been given to race is a 5-speed instead of the automatic you are used to. You get the picture. Give me a week and I'm fine, but I don't even get a test drive until the big show tomorrow.
You may have noticed that I'm a little (a lot) more stressed than I was at my last diary entry. That's because I saw my fellow USA teammate's poles today and they are considerably smaller than was believed and will be of no benefit at all unless it rains or there is a headwind. You guessed it sports fans; I'll be the guy in the car I've never seen before, on the biggest race day of my life. Stay tuned, by the time you read this it will be nearly over (7:30 PDT Tuesday, 7/22). A friend sent me a T-shirt with Bart Simpson pole vaulting on a pencil with the perfect caption for my situation, "Shut-Up and Vault". And I will.
July 23, 1997 - What Could or Should be - Strange
Twists of Fate
The mental, physical, and emotional torment and anguish of this trip had
reached a crescendo in the final 72 hours before the competition. That frustration
will be eased this morning as I step on the awards stand to receive the
bronze medal as the third place finisher at these 12th World Veterans Athletic
Championships. As I left the ground on what felt to be my best technical
vault of the season, I felt a cramp in my left hamstring. After clearing
the bar at 13' 1 ½" by well over a foot, I smiled as I was falling
back to earth knowing that I had just taken the lead in the competition,
having been the only vaulter to clear on the first attempt. I also realized
that, though I was finished vaulting for the day, I had just guaranteed
myself at least the bronze medal. In a game of tactics, rather than withdraw,
I passed all future attempts until the bar was raised to 14' 1 ¼"
in an effort to get the two remaining competitors to do the same. Had they
bit on that bait and missed at 14' 1 ¼", I would be world champion.
Probably because of the constant Santa Ana force headwinds, they didn't
have the confidence to make such a bold move and I don't blame them.
On the awards stand this morning I will be holding a copy of the Daily Pilot in honor of all of you that have supported me and suffered through the most incredible maze of twists and turns I have ever witnessed. No poles, injured, 30+ mph. headwinds, forgot my USA competition uniform (usually the first thing I pack, had to get the team manager scrambling to get me another in time), delays from call room to competition, poles I've never seen, and near violence on the part of one of the competitors toward the two USA athletes; all characterized this journey to the awards podium. Other injustices included my teammate getting fourth while I get the bronze medal using his poles, and my friend/training partner, Dan Borrey, world record holder and defending world champion eliminated without clearing a height with a 30+ mph assisting wind. Wow or How!?
After reviewing my last entry, two key items made the difference for me. Yes my teammate's poles were not useful UNLESS there was a severe headwind. As I wrote that entry, we were experiencing huge tailwinds. The other had to do with my T-shirt which said, "Shut-Up and Vault". When I arrived to declare myself in the competition, the wind had not yet come in for the day and the weather report predicted another tailwind day. I went back to my room and began my pre meet ritual of getting my field bag in order, my uniform (Oops, forgot it), and my music. I don't listen to music before a competition to "psyche up"; I listen to recall emotions or feelings from previous positive outings. For example, in Atlanta we listened to different music when we trained, when the Olympians vaulted, etc. I knew in January what music I would listen to here. I looked at my hat which had a "No Fear" logo, and my "Shut-Up and Vault" T-shirt and I left that hotel room with the greatest sense of well being and confidence that I have ever had before a meet. I knew I would need that focus to jump on these really big and stiff borrowed poles. But when I got to the stadium and saw that we had a big headwind, I immediately knew that the door to victory was wide open.
My great friend and four times Olympian, Earl Bell, entered the 1976 Olympics ranked number two in the world and came out 10th because of rain and headwinds. He told me after that experience, that every time it rained, or there was a headwind, that he would go out and vault. I will never forget his advice (20 years ago) as he told me, "someone still wins no matter what the conditions, it might as well be you".
I found my USA teammate and got his two biggest poles (neither had I ever seen before) and started on the smaller one. During warm-up, with everyone whining and protesting about the wind, I asked for the bar to be raised to 13' 1 ½" (4 meters), ran down and cleared it easily. From that point until my leg said stop, it was my meet to lose because I was ahead in the all-important emotional, mental, and confidence categories. As I walked off of the landing pit, I noticed two officials laughing at my shirt. In heavy South African accents, they pointed to my shirt and told the vaulter from Slovakia (the biggest whiner) to "Shut-Up and Vault". For the rest of the competition that vaulter taunted us, called us names, walked in front of us as we began to jump, and about every other form of unsportsmanlike conduct. Our response was to sincerely and consistently congratulate him (as we do all vaulters) after each successful clearance, shake his hand (he shook mine but refused Charlie's) after he won, and wish him good luck until we see him again.
But let's look at the other side of what could have been. Had I come out with a tailwind and been forced to use the bigger poles, I probably would have been injured in the warm-up and been unable to have taken even one vault in the meet. By the way, my leg is only about half as bad as last time and I will now get a month off. We get home Tuesday, so Drs.' Almquist and Pivaroff, you will bee seeing me on Wednesday. How about if I would have been healthy enough to complete the competition? I know what I think, but we will never know and the record will stand as is. Next time for me.
When I decided to take you along on this trip I had serious reservations about how it might affect my mental preparation. As it turned out, keeping you updated kept me sane during this trip, and for that I am very grateful to you all. Somehow, laying out the problems and the plan in writing seemed to give me a feeling of confidence, even when the world was falling apart around me. I wanted to take more time to tell you about the game reserves that we visited, the shopping, the Zulu village, new and renewed friendships with people from around the world, but we got a little sidetracked with the reason I'm here. Sorry about that. It has been a great experience for both of us, but we look forward to getting home to enjoy the greatest community in the world. Thank you again for your support.
Results from 12th World Veteran's Athletic Championships
M40 - Pole Vault
Gold Pytor Pazak, Slovakia 14' 5 ¼"
Silver Kristian Gissurarson, Iceland 13' 9 ¼"
Bronze Doug Sparks, USA 13' 1 ¼"