Jenn Suhr, who also came in first place at the AVIVA Grand Prix in Birmingham on Sunday, was second behind Yelena Isinbayeva in Beijing four years ago.Earlier this month she exceeded that performance pushing, the Russian into third place with a winning jump of 4.75m, five centimeters shorter than she jumped in 2008.The hours spent training in her back garden, where her coach and husband has set up a training facility which includes a pole vault run up, paid off for Suhr despite having the smallest margin for error to improve positions.Suhr told Women Sport Report: “Silver in Beijing was very special to me and it was something I worked hard for but I wanted the gold medal in London.“It’s hard to get gold because you have won silver, which is second place, so there is only one place to go higher but there a lot of places to go lower.“You understand that going into it and I went into it saying ‘I’m going to do this, I’m going to fight for this one’. You never know what is going to happen, you prepare for the worst but you really dream big.“Staying focused and staying hungry for it [is important]. There’s a lot of times when injury might hit or you might plateau and it’s just about staying motivated, working hard and having your coach there to help you through it.“The time between Beijing and London, four years is a long time, but it goes by fast and I think we will set our schedules up and be ready for Rio when it comes around.”The games in London have widely been praised as one of the best ever and Suhr feel the organisation and intellect of the fans Continue reading
Monthly Archives: August 2012
Local Olympian returns home from London without vaulting poles
JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) – Jeremy Scott earned a spot on the U.S. pole vaulting team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.He has since returned from overseas to the Jonesboro area, where he trains at Bell Athletics, but was missing something when he got home.Scott had left the Olympic games and competed in a few pole vaulting events in Germany.When he went to board his flight home, he had to abandon his equipment after the airline refused to put it on the plane.”It’d be like if the New York Giants went to the Super Bowl, and their pads didn’t show up,” Scott said. “You can’t exactly go out there and play without pads.”Scott represented the U.S. at his first Olympic Games earlier this month. He fell just short of the pole vaulting final but says the experience ended on a high note.He got to attend the closing ceremonies with his teammates and meet a few celebrities at the London premiere of “The Expendables 2.”"My inner child, my sixth grade self was just like bursting at the seams meeting all of those guys that you watch growing up,” he said, “so that was pretty neat too.”Scott then packed up his equipment and left London for Germany.Despite having flown more than 100,000 miles this year alone, Continue reading
Israeli vault star not appreciated in Israel
Whoever wants to understand why we didn’t win a medal in London and just how much the term “sports culture” is foreign to us, should read the following with sorrow: Alex Averbuch, who turns 38 in a month, Israel’s greatest track and field athlete ever, is expected to report Sunday to the nearest unemployment office to look for work. A reminder: Averbuch immigrated to Israel toward the end of the 1990s after winning the bronze medal in the decathlon at the World Championships. He decided to focus on the pole vault and the results were quick to follow. He won the bronze at the World Championships in Seville in 1999 and a silver medal at the World Championships in Edmonton in 2001.Even people who had already seen it all in sports were thrilled by Averbuch. He brought me to tears when he won gold at the European Championships in Munich a decade ago. Thirty years after the massacre of our Olympic athletes there by terrorists, Averbuch gave us goose bumps as Israel’s national anthem, Naftali Herz Imber’s “Hatikvah,” was played in Munich. In 2006, too, at the height of the Second Lebanon War, Averbuch made us all immensely proud after again Continue reading
Zurich Diamond League Results: Walker no heights; Lavillenie wins
Weltklasse Zürich Zürich (Letzigrund) (SUI) – Thursday, Aug 30, 2012 Pole Vault – M ———————————————————————————————
| Pos | Athlete | Nat | Mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renaud Lavillenie | FRA | 5.70 |
| 2 | Björn Otto | GER | 5.55 |
| 3 | Jan Kudlicka | CZE | 5.55 |
| 3 | Steven Lewis | GBR | 5.55 |
| 5 | Konstadínos Filippídis | GRE | 5.40 |
| Karsten Dilla | GER | NM | |
| Raphael Holzdeppe | GER | NM | |
| Evgeniy Lukyanenko | RUS | NM | |
| Romain Mesnil | FRA | NM | |
| Malte Mohr | GER | NM | |
| Dmitry Starodubtsev | RUS | NM | |
| Brad Walker | USA | NM |
The Cost of the Vault: Pacer Pole Vault Poles
Lausanne (SUI) – Thursday, Aug 23, 2012
Pole Vault
| Pos | Athlete | Nat | Mark | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renaud Lavillenie |  FRA |
5.80 | 4 |
| 2 | Malte Mohr |  GER |
5.80 | 2 |
| 3 | Steven Lewis |  GBR |
5.80 | 1 |
| 4 | Konstadínos Filippídis |  GRE |
5.80 | |
| 5 | Steven Hooker |  AUS |
5.70 | |
| 6 | Brad Walker |  USA |
5.70 | |
| 7 | Romain Mesnil | FRA |
5.70 | |
| 8 | Dmitry Starodubtsev |  RUS |
5.55 | |
| 9 | Lázaro Borges |  CUB |
5.55 | |
| 10 | Björn Otto | GER |
5.55 | |
| 11 | Raphael Holzdeppe | GER |
5.55 | |
| 11 | Evgeniy Lukyanenko | RUS |
5.55 |
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The Cost of the Vault: Pits
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Hooker recovers a bit from the Olympics
STEVE Hooker has bounced back from his Olympic disappointment with fifth place in the men’s pole vault at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting. Australia’s 2008 Olympic champion, who crashed out of the final of the London Games without a height, managed to clear 5.70m in finishing behind the winner France’s Renaud Lavillenie, who broke Hooker’s Olympic record just weeks ago.Hooker entered the event at 5.50m which he cleared on his first attempt. Likewise when the bar was raised to 5.70m. He then failed at his first two attempts at 5.80m and then passed, before being unable to clear 5.86m.
Hooker, who had signalled his intention to regain form on the European circuit following his London disappointment, said he was happy with his effort.
“I feel like the old me on the runway and I can’t tell you how much I enjoy being out there with the guys,” he said. “In London I was a little off with timing. By no means am I saying I was going to be a medallist but I was in better shape than my results showed and want to prove that in the next week or so.”
Ohio Rep. DeVitis Congratulates Morgan Estes
Ohio State Representative Anthony DeVitis (R-Green) recently presented a letter of congratulations to Morgan Estes, who won the Division I State Championship in pole vaulting. A senior at Green High School, Estes took the state title with a winning vault of 12’ 5” and in the coming year hopes to break the school record of 12’ 10”.
“It was an honor to recognize Morgan Estes for this great achievement, ” said DeVitis. “She worked hard to win the Division I State Championship in pole vaulting, and I look forward to seeing great things from her this school year. I am proud to have her as a constituent of the 43rd House District.”
The championship was held at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in June. Estes is Green High School’s third pole vault champion in the last eight seasons. more
Bubka wins Ukrainian Award
KYIV (UKR): Sergey Bubka, Ukrainian NOC President, has been awarded with The
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (III grade). The award has been given as a
part of celebration of the Independence Day. It was on August 24, 1991, when the
Declaration of Independence was signed by the Parliament proclaiming Ukraine a
new independent state. The award has been given as recognition of Sergey Bubka’s
contribution to success of Ukrainian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics and
promotion of Olympic movement in the country. Athletes from Ukraine won 20
medals in London including 6 gold medals helping their team to take the 14th
place in the Olympic medal table among 204 NOCs. It is due to Bubka’s efforts
Ukrainian NOC and national sport federations have got new sources of financing
the preparation of elite athletes. The award is also in recognition of the
several NOC initiatives implemented to bring kids closer to sports, show a
healthy way of life and promote Olympic ideals more
Blog: What will it take to be a D1 Women’s Collegiate Vaulter?
My D14 who has cheered for 11+ years has been recruited by the Pole Vault Coach for the upcoming season. (She ran the 100, 200 and 4×100 this past year so she has the speed.)
My question is, what are the standards for her to be a possible Pole Vaulter in College??
Answer: To be recruited as a D1 pole vaulter, she should be hitting 12′ – 12’6″ her junior year. There is a steep learning curve in PV technique. If she is relatively tall with good (sub 13) speed in the 100m – a coach may be interested if he sees the physical tools are there but she hasn’t had enough coaching and experience to hit those heights.
D3′s and walk-ons might be 11′+ more
Holly vaults with a Diamond Games dazzler
Great Britain –Peterborough Athletic Club’s Holly Brown leapt to the top of the UK pole vault rankings for a 13-year-old at the Peterborough Diamond Games at the Embankment on Monday. Brown cleared 3.06m at the second attempt, which also ranks her sixth in the UK in the Under 15 age group, and was just one of many good performances that made up this traditional Bank Holiday meeting. “That was a magnificent vault for Holly and I think she could go higher,” said her coach Roy Thickpenny. more
Southern California University Rivals face new coaching situations
World famous UCLA coach Anthony Curran is going from a paid coach to a volunteer coach this year and USC is hunting for a volunteer pole vault coach. USC job description: The University of Southern California is seeking candidates for a Volunteer Track and Field- Pole Vault Coach. This position will coach the Pole Vault events in indoors and outdoors track and field. Responsibilities may include but not limited to assisting with organizing skills and be able to work with students, coaches, administrators, parents, and faculty with rules and regulations of the University, the PAC 12 Conference, and NCAA. Bachelor’s degree preferred. Previous collegiate Pole Vault competitive experience, or high school/club coaching background preferred. Interested candidates should send email their cover letter and resume to Ron Allice (rallice@usc.edu), Director of Track & Field. more
Lavillenie and Otto answer questions before Zurich diamond League Event
Renaud Lavillenie (FRA), Olympic gold medallist Pole Vault –
On why and how he can perform so many more jumps in training than other competitors:
I’m able to jump two, three hours in a row. Actually my longest training session was over three and a half hours. And I did about ninety jumps.
I like it. It’s just that when I get a pole in my hand I just want to jump and keep jumping. There’s no other reason.
Bjorn Otto (GER) Olympic silver medallist Pole Vault -
On why he had a successful season in 2012:
I changed my training a bit this year and didn’t have too many injuries. So I thought I could have a good season and that was the case this year
