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Katie Nageotte Leading the Way

PUMA in the Pit PUMA in the Pit

PUMA in the pit

#4 JUNE 2021 #3 APR 2021

The mission of TAKEOFF Magazine is to inspire amateur athletes to personal greatness. My name is Adele San Miguel, and I am the co-founder of Pole Vault Carolina, a training facility based in Durham, North Carolina. TAKEOFF is the next iteration of our club’s mission: to coach the athlete to their highest self. I’m thrilled to have you on our runway. ADELE SAN MIGUEL, PUBLISHER + EDITOR

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HELLO THERE!

June 2021

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

We look forward with hopeful expectation to the Olympic Trials, the Games next month, and the Paralympics in August. The theme of this issue is potential. What is yours? Are you reaching for it like an Olympic hopeful? We lead off with Katie Nageotte who, after a great day at the Trials in 2016 still did not make the team. Katie challenged what she thought she could achieve and found a coach to help her do it. Grant Overstake inspires us with Katie’s current world lead status on page 22. Grant is a story himself. He is the author of Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, a tale of every day heroism, in which Maggie Steele overcomes personal tragedy by trying something new, pole vault. Ralph Hardy penned the story behind this young adult novel. Page 16. Northwest Pole Vault Coach Tim Reilly critiques the jump of high school athlete, Bailey Tart. Those of us who want to learn Tim’s secret sauce to coaching should turn to page 44 for his in-depth analysis. 1992 Olympian in the triple jump, John Tillman, brings insight and wisdom to our If I Knew Then column. Page 48. Pole Vault Carolina head coach Jose R. San Miguel wrote a tribute to our daughter Sofia’s tenacity. Never Surrender is on page 28. We are proud to highlight 2 Olympians from Puerto Rico who are heading to the Games to honor their island country again, Luis Joel Castro in the high jump and Wesley Vasquez, 800 meters. Destination:Tokyo also features North Carolina hopeful, Keon Howe. We thank our advertisers, Grain Valley Press, the Hudson Valley Flying Circus, and SPIRE Institute and Academy. All the Very Best, Adele

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Issue Number 4 You will read about Katie Nageotte’s Olympic quest, the release of Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, and see how Coach Tim Reilly critiques a jump!

Letter from The Editor 3 Makes and Misses 6 ClubHub 8 Hydration Station, The Role of Water in Athletic Performance

Maggie Vaults Over the Moon 16 Katie Nageotte: Leading the Way 22 Never Surrender, A Recipe for Success

Destination: Tokyo -Keon Howe 32 -Luis Joel Castro 36 -Wesley Vasquez 40 Coach’s Critique - Tim Reilly 44

If I Knew Then with Olympian John Tillman

Cover photo by Adam Barcan

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CONTRIBUTORS

Ralph Hardy

Summer McNeill

Playright Novelist, Argos Masters Pole Vaulter

B.S. Nutrition and Dietetics Post Collegiate Pole Vaulter

The Long Approach of Maggie Vaults Over The Moon

Hydration Station

Grant Overstake

Tim Reilly

Novelist - Maggie Vaults Over The Moon Masters Pole Vaulter

Founder and Head Coach of North West Pole Vault Club.

Katie Nageotte - Leading the Way

Coach’s Critique

Jose R. San Miguel

John Tillman

Head Coach of Pole Vault Carolina

6- Time NCAA All-American Univeristy of Tennessee 1992 Olympian

Never Surrender

If I Knew Then

MAKES & MISSES By Adelina San Miguel

After a year of uncertainty, the Olympic Trials are beginning. In the next two weeks, track and field athletes will travel from all corners of the country to Eugene, Oregon, to prove themselves worthy of representing the United States of America on the greatest stage in world athletics. They have trained, sacrificed, fallen, risen, persisted for years, five at least, to compete for the privilege. In the pole vault, forty-eight men and women will compete for six spots on the team. No matter the outcome, they will have achieved personal victory. There are those who do not understand sport, who think the mind can only be developed through academic endeavor. Yet the elite athlete has stretched their consciousness into believing and their body into achieving its greatest capacity. All things are created twice. We first imagine what we want, then we bring it into physical reality. The vaulter conceives of the possibility of being an Olympian, envisions it, then puts in the weight lifting, sprint work, drills, and jumps to challenge what is personally attainable. Athletes set themselves up to not back down. In competition, adrenaline courses through them and they tremble with nerves and anticipation. Some get sick on the sidelines. Confidence falters. They run and jump anyway because they are in pursuit of the answer to this question:

What is my potential?

become more than they are in the moment. Along the way, pole vaulters learn to cheer for their rivals, understanding that competition is not about crushing another, but about rising to the next level yourself. In the absence of rivalry and contest, we can grow indifferent, complacent. Vaulters have trained for roughly the last 1,825 days to perform a bar-clearing jump that takes six seconds to execute. The Olympics are on the line as are potential sponsorships; but these take second place to the athlete’s inner knowing that they showed up every day for themselves to defy the limits of their abilities. To every athlete who just missed out on the opportunity to compete at the Trials, we acknowledge you. Your valiant undertaking inspired others to seek personal bests in their individual journeys. For those who will take the runway in Eugene this week and next, may the winds be in your favor; may you appreciate your own accomplishment; may you feel rewarded by the satisfaction that make or miss, giving your all is enough. We will be thrilled for every person who gains an Olympic perch and awed by everyone who came up against themselves and put life on hold to pursue the thing that many of us avoid: our fullest potential.

In a quest for excellence, they have the courage to seek the answer. By harnessing energy and focusing it over time, they overcome self-doubt, and quell the ego who likes to tell us we are not enough.

Wherever you are right now, whatever your obligations and occupations are, be an Olympic hopeful. Come face-to-face with your weaknesses and do what you must to convert them to strengths. Try. This is your invitation to live the Olympic motto in everything you do: Citius, altius, fortius: swifter, higher, stronger.

They decide to be mentally and physically coachable to

Just, do it.

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D.C. Vault Washington, DC Head Coach: Edward Luthy

Josh Weinstein While playing on a playground at age 6, Josh Weinstein saw DC Vault athletes training at the adjacent facility. After watching the practice, he began harassing his mother daily, asking if he could pole vault. His parents finally acquiesced and reached out to ask if we would train someone his age. We agreed and he began practicing shortly after. Training was not easy for Josh initially. Due to other commitments, he could not train locally in DC and had to travel late on Sunday evenings, an hour away to one of our satellite facilities north of Baltimore - at age 6 mind you. Additionally, when we first met Josh, we learned that he had been diagnosed with ADHD, making it hard for him to focus.

Now age 11, Josh has grown physically and matured mentally. Watching him many times with a look of determination on his face, as he fights to focus in order to perform to the best of his ability during practice, has been impressive. Many of us don’t realize how easy day-to-day activities can be for us and we take things for granted. But when we see someone like Josh not only succeed, but excel when he has to work so much harder than most others do, is inspirational.

Our coaching staff and other athletes exercised a lot of patience the first few seasons, as Josh was often distracted during practice and extremely full of energy. But as time went on, he became more focused and obsessed with learning to vault properly and achieve higher heights. Season after season, Josh’s determination has only grown. He is so committed to his training that his family has to drive him back to practice even when they are hours away on vacation. He is currently preparing for his first competition of the season, and the DMV Pole Vault Championships in June.

Photo provided by D.C. Vault

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Darlington High School Darlington, SC Head Coach: Wayne Lacy

Rileigh Lacy When Rileigh Lacy’s father put a broken pole in her hands, he discovered his then nine-year-old daughter had a natural penchant for pole vaulting. Wayne was a collegiate vaulter and master’s athlete, and Rileigh used to accompany him to the track. Mother Sheri Turnbull Lacy represented Canada in basketball in the 1996 Olympic Games. Athletic success is coded in Riliegh’s DNA. But Rileigh began at the beginning. When she first started, she struggled to run while carrying the pole. Instead of fighting it, Wayne coached her to push the pole tip along the runway. When Rileigh entered her first track meet, she noticed that all of the other girls held their poles with the tip in the air. That day Rileigh grew in confidence. She still competed pushing the pole, but immediately picked it up when she got back to practice without even telling Wayne.

Last month, she won the state meet again, this time with a personal record vault of 12’ from only four lefts. Tall, fast, and strong, Rileigh fearlessly jumps on long poles with ratings way over her body weight. For her senior year, Rileigh will work on getting on bigger poles, and lengthening her approach. She is ready for the next level!

At fifteen, she won the South Carolina 4A State Championship with a jump of 10’7”. But it wasn’t until she received her championship ring from Darlington High School, that Rileigh was truly hooked on pole vault. Covid 19 deleted the possibilities of a sophomore season, but Rileigh and her family were undeterred. Wayne and Sheri purchased a landing system and a friend with acres of farm land offered them a shady spot for it. Rileigh hasn’t missed practice in a year.

Photo provided by Wayne Lacy

Pole Vault Carolina

Durham, NC Owner and Head Coach: Jose R. San Miguel

Jack Tan Jack Tan is an eighth grader who started pole vaulting in October of 2020.

is committed to his progress. He prioritizes pole vault by signing up for sessions weeks in advance.

While Jack was excited to try a new sport, he worried that pole vault would be too difficult to grasp. Surprised that he could execute a basic jump by the end of the first practice, Jack came back for more. Once he learned the basics, Jack immediately began attacking the box. He is fearless!

Jack will be able to immediately contribute to his high school team in the fall, and they will be lucky to have him!

Jack’s parkour background assisted his quick development. He possesses excellent body awareness, strength, and the mental stamina to repeat the drills necessary to achieve desired results. Jack took advantage of the opportunities to train consistently even amidst Covid’s restrictions. He improved his technique and speed. Jack jumped in many of the competitions at Pole Vault Carolina to build his meet confidence and create the foundation needed for long term success.

In December 2020, Jack jumped 8’. In the last four weeks, Jack has won the NC Runners Middle School Championships with a new personal record of 11’, and the Body Armour State Games, also with eleven feet. Jack is the highest-ranking middle schooler in North Carolina. Jack appreciates the feeling of community in the club, where everyone is valued, no matter their age or skill level. Coachable and confident, Jack

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Photo provided by Pole Vault Carolina

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Colin Troan Colin is the youngest of the Troan brothers to train at Pole Vault Carolina. In true sibling rivalry, his goal is be the highest vaulter of the three. Now a freshman at Cary Academy, Colin used to tag along to practice with older brother Loren, who vaults for the University of Chicago. But Colin has achieved greatness of his own.

We are excited to see what Colin accomplishes during the summer season and are certain he will continue progressing, contributing to his school, and working his way to becoming the highest flying Troan in the club.

Pole vaulting did not come easily. Colin had to try hard, not because he lacked athletic ability, but because he doubted himself. It was just a few months ago that Colin finally bought into the fact that he could do this, and once he did, he flourished as a pole vaulter and teammate. Colin started his freshman year with a personal best of 8’6”, and made huge improvements. At the biggest meet of the season for him, the NCISAA Division 1 State Championships, Colin set a new personal record of 10’6” to finish third as a freshman. He committed, trained, trusted the process, and personal victory became his to own. Colin made the most of the opportunities presented to him, including the fact that his high school hired Sofia San Miguel as their pole vault coach for the outdoor season. Colin trained at school and at Pole Vault Carolina and the results were impressive: a 24” improvement over the course of the school year.

Photo provided by Pole Vault Carolina

Hydration Station: What Role Does Water Play in Athletic Performance? By Summer C. McNeill | B.S. Nutrition and Dietetics

Every athlete has heard their coaches say “hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!” especially when it’s hot outside. But, why is hydration so important? What role does water play in athletic performance? And how much water should you really be drinking? Let’s start with the basics. Water plays many important roles in our bodies. It regulates our body temperature, transports essential nutrients to muscles and carries away by-products, eliminates metabolic waste through urine, maintains blood volume, lubricates joints, cushions organs, and improves the body’s ability to recover. During exercise especially, water is used to cool the body through sweat. As we move into the warmer months of the year, it’s important to be aware of the amount of sweat you are losing so that you can replenish your body with enough fluids to avoid dehydration.

What’s the deal with dehydration? Dehydration impairs your ability to train at your best and can lead to a lack of improvement in your perfor-

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mance. Being in a state of dehydration increases your body temperature and heart rate, decreases your blood pressure, makes you feel tired and fatigued faster, leads to muscle cramps and headaches, and can even cause nausea and vomiting. As athletes, you put in so much time and work to be your best, don’t let dehydration be the thing that holds you back from your potential. Those most at risk of dehydration are endurance athletes and athletes who train hard (over an hour) every day. Athletes who train moderately (30-60 minutes) three or four times a week should be able to easily maintain their fluid balance through a healthy diet. You never want to begin a workout in a dehydrated state. If you notice that you are dehydrated, drink some fluids and give your body some time to soak it up before you begin your exercise. How do I know if I am hydrated? The easiest way to track your hydration is by monitoring your urine color and output. Ideally, your pee should be the color of lemonade or light beer. Completely transparent urine may be a sign that you are over-

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hydrating; and, although rare, over hydrating can dilute your blood sodium and lead to a condition called hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is rare, but, as athletes it is something that you should be aware of. When urine is an amber or copper color, that is a sign to start drinking more water because you are on your way to dehydration. If your urine is ever brown or a burnt orange color, you are severely dehydrated and need to start drinking fluids and electrolytes immediately. A simple Google search of “urine color chart” can give you a great visualization of what you should be looking for. Another way to track your hydration is to weigh yourself before and after exercise (without clothes) and consume 16-20 ounces of fluid for every pound lost during exercise. How should I hydrate? When people hear the word “hydration” they usually think of water. Water should be your number one source of hydration, but it doesn’t have to be your only source. During training that lasts over an hour you should be consuming some type of

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sports drink to replenish the nutrients and electrolytes that you are using up. Sports drinks should contain carbohydrates and sodium. Outside of training, you can hydrate with a variety of fluids that fit into your normal diet. Fluids such as juice, milk, lemonade, and even coffee or tea all contain water.

2 to 3 hours before: 16 ounces 15 minutes before: 8 ounces

I advise against consuming sugar-free sports drinks during exercise because your muscles need an intake of glucose (sugar) to keep working at their best and prevent you from feeling fatigued.

Drinking half of your body weight in ounces is a great base line for hydration. A person who weighs 150 pounds will need 150 ounces X 50% = 75 ounces of fluid per day at a minimum.

In addition to fluids, you can also hydrate through foods that should be included in your daily diet. Fruits, vegetables, yogurt, rice, and pasta are a few great sources of hydrating foods.

From there, monitor the color and output of your urine to ensure you remain in a hydrated state.

Training in the off-season is the perfect time to play around and experiment with new hydration techniques and products. The best thing you can do for your performance is know your body and what it needs. Hydration recommendations from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) are as follows: Before exercise:

During exercise: 4 ounces of fluid every 15-20 minutes After exercise: 16-20 ounces of fluid for every pound lost during exercise

Hot Takes Remember that fluid needs vary from person to person. All of the information provided in this article is general advice for healthy people. If you wish to explore hydration on a more personal level, please consult with a sports dietitian for an individualized hydration plan. Resources can be found at: https:// www.eatright.org/find-a-nutrition-expert?rdType=url_edit&rdProj=fane_update&rdInfo=fae

Photo provided by Pole Vault Carolina

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The Long Approach of Maggie Vaults Over The Moon By Ralph Hardy

In 2010, Wichita native Grant Overstake, journalist, pastor, journalist again, and masters decathlete, sat down to write a novel. He’d been a writer for decades, winning awards for his feature writing and long-form journalism, but he’d never written fiction. The resilience of the human spirit exemplified in his stories about people facing long odds, and athletes overcoming insurmountable obstacles, resonated with his readers, in Kansas, where he began his journalism career, and also in Miami, where he wrote for the powerhouse, Miami Herald. Later, his pastoral work in rural Kansas and the hard streets of Chicago taught him that grace abounded, but in places where you least expected it. Grant wanted to spread that message, but not through sermons. He knew he had a novel in his heart and his head; he just had to find a way to tell it.

He also wanted it to be about sports. As an athlete himself, he knew that competing in sport at the competitive level was a crucible, a trial from which you came through a stronger person. Sometimes, anyway. But how do you tell that story? Can it be as simple as writing what you know? Because Grant knew a lot.

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There was a time in the ‘60s when the eyes of the track world were focused, perhaps improbably, on the midwestern state of Kansas. There, a tall, wiry, running prodigy named Jim Ryun was burning up the cinder tracks, setting record after record. In 1964, still a high school junior, he broke 4 minutes in the mile. Ryun went on to break four minutes five times while still in high school. Newspapers throughout Kansas, and across the country, covered Ryun’s exploits. Grant, ten years younger than Ryun, knew he was never going to be a great miler, but he loved track and field, particularly the pole vault. Still, you can only vault so high with a hoe or a rake. He saved his money, and one Saturday, Grant rode his Stingray bike to the local fishing supply store and rode back home, clutching their stiffest bamboo fishing pole. He marked his line, and clutching his new pole, soared over his homemade crossbar, landing on bales of hay. He was a natural. He kept at it, running youth track on the same cinders Jim Ryun had run upon. Grant was also a quarterback, basketball player, and regional champ in track in high school, qualifying for the state meet three

times. “I wasn’t great at any of the track and field events I competed in, but I was pretty good at all of them,” he laughs. And so, a decathlete was made. Then Earl Bell came to town. Maybe you’ve dreamed of stringing Serena’s racquet or handing Usain his starting blocks. Well, in 1976, Earl Bell, who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of American pole vaulters, was vaulting at Wichita State, at the USATF National Championships. There to catch the breakable fiberglass poles? Nineteen-year-old Grant Overstake. Twenty steps later, Bell cleared 18’7”, a world record. Grant caught the pole so it wouldn’t break. Maybe, just maybe, a seed was planted that sunny afternoon. By then Grant was attending Butler Junior College where he became a USATF All-American decathlete, placing 5th at USATF Nationals, all while writing sports part-time for the Eagle and Beacon, Kansas’ largest daily newspaper. In 1978, he married his high school sweetheart, Claire Brewer, who had been a two-time state champion high school sprinter and a record-setter at Wichita State. Together they transferred to the University of Kansas, where, as 20-year-old

best.”

Photo provided by Grant Overstake

followed, so prioritizing home and family, they moved back to Kansas in 1988, where he continued to work for Blue Cross & Blue Shield, and where Claire and he volunteered at a Salvation Army soup kitchen. Serving the poor and needy opened their eyes to a greater good that they could do, so they sold their possessions and entered The Salvation Army seminary in Chicago for an intensive two-year training program. They devoted five years to the Salvation Army before returning to Kansas, where Claire went back to teaching, and Grant spent five more years as an itinerant minister serving in Methodist churches sprinkled among small Kansas towns, including the tiny farming community of Hiattville, in southeast Kansas, the setting for Maggie Vaults Over the Moon.

newlyweds, they became the first married couple to compete on the Jayhawks’ track teams. As a junior, under the watchful eye of the late great coach Bob Timmons, Grant placed 5th in the KU Relays decathlon and was looking forward to his senior year, but was forced to give up track to fulfill his scholarship obligations at the journalism school. Now he had to tell the man who led Jim Ryun to world records and coached Kansas to three indoor NCAA championships that he was leaving his team. But Timmons, a former Marine, understood the burden of responsibility.

Although Grant was heartbroken about leaving the team, that same year, a feature article he wrote as a reporter for The University Daily Kansan won the William Randolph Hearst Award, the college version of the Pulitzer Prize. He was on his way.

“Coach Timmons called me up in front of the squad to shake my hand. “Now Grant isn’t the greatest athlete,” he said to no one’s surprise. “But he could wind up writing for Sports Illustrated someday.

From western Kansas, the restless journalist leaped to the Miami Herald where he chased stories day and night for the precious byline. But the long hours kept him away from Claire, who was teaching school, so after four years Grant left the paper to sell health insurance. Three children in five years

He doesn’t want to leave us, but it’s time for him to do what he does

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After graduation, Grant became the editor of The Johnson City Pioneer, where he not only wrote all the stories but also took all the photographs. It was there that he would begin to understand the hardships of Kansas farmers, lessons that he would use later in his description of Maggie’s life.

But journalism called him back, and after their youngest child graduated from high school, Grant dove back in as editor of The Hillsboro Star-Journal, where he wrote 56 weekly newspapers in a row, winning a dozen writing awards from the Kansas Press Association, and two Golden Wheat Awards from the Kansas Farm Bureau. Capturing life on the farms of Kansas further cultivated the seeds for Maggie. Then Claire won the Presidential Award for Excellence as a science teacher, the highest award in the nation, so they moved back to Wichita to be closer to their kids and Claire’s parents. But the restless journalist was ready for his next move. They downsized so they could afford to live on Claire’s income, and Grant began to plot out his novel. For a decathlete, technique is the key ingredient to success, but what was the technique of writing a novel? Grant approached the problem

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with his characteristic preparedness and midwestern parsimony. Instead of getting an MFA, he read nearly every book written on how to write a novel. And then he sat down and did it. And it was good. Everybody said so. But who would publish a novel about a teenage farm girl in Kansas who likes to pole vault? After all, she wasn’t even a vampire, and rural Kansas was hardly a dystopian hellscape, which is what all the kids were reading, right? The literary agents--gatekeepers to the publishing industry--passed. So Grant did more research and decided to self-publish his novel. Amazon CreateSpace was designed for just that thing, and soon he had a paperback and an e-book for sale. Ever the salesman, Grant reached out to pole vaulting clubs and camps all across the country. Would they help him promote his book? They would and they did, Earl Bell included, as well as other Olympians and coaches. The story of a Kansan farm girl who picks up pole vaulting as a means of coping with a family tragedy and overcomes setbacks and challenges to compete at the highest state level resonated with

readers across the country. Maggie picked up steam. And awards: Battle of the Books, “National Book of the Week” and “Too Cool for School” mentions by Publishers Weekly. Then Audie Award-winning voice actress Tavia Gilbert earned top reviews for her audiobook performance of the story from AudioFile magazine. But Grant didn’t stop there. Seeing a need in school for role models, even a fictional one, he began to attend school assemblies with a presentation called “Don’t Quit, Use Grit!” using pole-vaulting and Maggie’s resilient character as a jumping-off point to talk about “famous failures” like Edison, Einstein, and Oprah, to encourage youngsters to get back up and try, try again. Grit is a topic that Grant likes to talk about. Can grit be taught? Can it be transferred from one domain, athletics, for example, to another, such as academics? Can it be nurtured, fostered, expanded? He thinks so. And he wants to help do that. Now, after a pandemic where life was disrupted for millions of school kids, Maggie is needed more than ever. Seeking more control of his sales,

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Grant started his own publishing company, Grain Valley Publishing Company, and wrote another novel, The Real Education of T.J Crowley, a gripping YA novel about race relations set in Wichita during the turbulent sixties. Still active in athletics, Claire and Grant won the Couple’s Spirit award last year by doing decathlons remotely for the World Masters Games in 2020 during the pandemic. Having Claire as his life companion, Grant attests, has been the most fortunate aspect of his life. And Maggie, too, has a second act. Just in time for the Olympics, and with pole vaulting gaining popularity across the country, Grant has re-released his cult-classic under his own imprint, with a foreword by Olympic gold medalist Katerina Stefanidi and group discussion questions by mental performance consultant and Doctorate in Sport Psychology, Dr. Melissa White. Teenage readers need someone to root for and learn from. She’s right there, waiting for the swirling Kansas wind to die down before she begins her approach. And yes, Maggie still uses a bamboo pole.

Photo provided by Grant Overstake

Maggie Vaults Over The Moon a book review By Ralph Hardy

A great novel transports the reader

farm girl has to draw on her inner

Unlike the fabled tornado in The Wizard of Oz that transports Dorothy to a place outside of Kansas, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon takes us to the heart of that state, where wheat fields must be threshed and family and friends are sometimes the only buffers against the harsh realities of farm life.

As her senior year begins, Maggie unexpectedly finds an old bamboo pole in their barn where she and her brother used to play. There she secretly begins to pole vault, a powerful metaphor for rising to life’s challenges. Seeking an outlet for her teenage angst, Maggie joins the school track team to become the school’s first and only girl pole vaulter.

to a different time and place, a fictional universe where the world one knows is altered and expanded.

When a tragedy forces Maggie to confront her future, the carefree

well of grit and determination to simply make it through the day.

Subtly addressing gender inequities

in both farming and school athlet-

ics, Overstake shows the reader how perseverance, pluck, and self-belief can take the reader to new heights, while a metaphysical component paradoxically grounds the tale and provides space for thoughtful discussion. There is a tendency among the semi-professional book reviewing class to obscure one’s feelings about the book under review in exchange for analysis and critique, but I will not do that here. I didn’t like Maggie Vaults Over the Moon. Reader, I loved it.

How to Enjoy Maggie Vaults Over the Moon:

Paperback: Click here to order from

Watermark Books

Audio: Audie Award winning storyteller

Tavia Gilbert lends her voice to bring

Maggie to life! Click here to access it

through Downpour.com

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Katie Nageotte Leading The Way By Grant Overstake

Who will become the next Olympic women’s pole vault champion?

then, Katie felt the Olympic flame burning in her heart.

With her vault of 4.94 (16-2.5) on June 11th, Katie Nageotte currently holds the world lead.

“Ever since I was young, I’ve always wanted that [Olympic glory],” she recalled. “As I got older and was good at sports, it was like, ‘Oh, okay, this is something that maybe... maybe could happen for me.’’’ “Maybe” was enough to keep the flame burning.

One can already imagine Katie on the podium, waving and smiling to a worldwide audience on television and thousands of her social media followers online, with a smile that has become a trademark tweet for one of the sport’s most popular vaulters. But before Katie finds Olympic glory in the Land of the Rising Sun, she must do one thing she’s never done before, which is make the U.S. Olympic Team. Since a heartbreaking 5th place finish at the Trials in 2016, she has been on a burning quest to redeem herself.

Photo credit: Adam Barcan

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In an Olympic season like none other, when Tokyo 2020 became Tokyo 2021, “up and down” doesn’t begin to describe the roller coaster ride she’s been on. The movie of Katie’s Olympic quest begins in the family room in Olmsted Falls, Ohio late in the last century. Zoom in as a spirited girl with long arms and spindly legs fidgets with excitement watching the Olympic Games unfold on television with her father Mark, mom Diane, and her two siblings Andy and Emily. Even

Flash forward to a montage of images of Katie growing up as a budding gymnast, and then as a pole vaulter, with her father driving her back and forth an hour each way to practice. Then, in a heartbeat, there’s an empty chair in front of the TV as the family of five becomes only four. No one can prepare for the loss of their dad from a heart attack when she is only 16 years old. Somehow, Mom keeps it together, keeps working. Katie says she was an angel in a family fraught with angst and woe. After her father’s passing, Katie writes “Dad” on her track shoe for the first time, as she will before every competition from then on. A closeup of her foot on the runway shows that “Dad” is still a driving force, written on her Nike shoes. In college, Katie became the twotime NCAA Division II pole vault champion and a three-time

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Photo credit: Adam Barcan

All-American. She turned pro in 2013 and set her sights on the Olympics in Rio, 2016. But it wasn’t to be. Steadfast Jenn Suhr won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials by clearing 15 feet, 9 inches. Sandi Morris was second (15-7) and Alexis Weeks was third (15-5). Katie had her best day in the sport but finished fifth (15-1).

Failing to make the team despite performing so well was a wake-up call for Katie. Things would have to change if she was going to make the Olympic team in 2020. “After 2016, I knew that [the Olympic quest] wasn’t over for me, but I also knew that I couldn’t do it with what I was doing at the time, because I’d had a great day that day, and still didn’t make the team. It was very humbling and that forced me to get out of my comfort zone in

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a way I never would have. I’m glad things didn’t go my way at the Trials because I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today.” The quest began anew when she hired a new coach, Brad Walker, and moved first from Tennessee to Washington state, and then to Georgia in 2017. The rest is history in the making. “If I’d made the team in 2016, I probably would have just stayed as a 4.60 jumper, been complacent and not sought out Brad. But he has turned me into not just a different athlete, but a different person. I am so grateful for that. Even if it doesn’t go my way in a couple of weeks, it’s the best thing I ever could have done, moving to work with him.” Mentally tough, Walker is known for overcoming adversity in his career.

He was a 9-time USA Track and Field pole vault champion. A flashback shows him missing the pit and hitting his head during warm-ups at the 2007 World Championships in Moscow. After being knocked unconscious, he woke up to win with a clutch clearance of 5.80 (19-0) on his third attempt. He set an American record of 6.04 (19-9) in 2008. But despite Brad’s success in the sport, Olympic glory eluded him. Walker was a member of Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and the 2012 Olympics in London, where he placed 12th. In two other Olympic bids, he didn’t make the team. Olympic glory has evaded a cosmos of stellar athletes, but Brad and Katie are two amazing vaulters with zero Olympic medals between them. Katie turned thirty on June 13 and is

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young enough and along with Brad, hungry enough, to change that. They went to work in a converted jeans factory in Cartersville, Georgia. More speed work without the pole. More Olympic lifts. More focus on the runway. And it worked! A stronger, tougher, better Katie shocked the sport in 2018 by winning the national indoor meet in Albuquerque with a vault of 4.91 (16-1.3). Katie made three PRs on that day of days. She captured the gold medal, took her first shot at the world record, made the national team, and signed a pro contract with Nike. All in the same evening. She was in the whirlwind, living her dream. “In the moment, you don’t realize that things like that just don’t happen every day,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a day like that since, and that’s okay. Maybe that’s what I’m chasing, a day with three PRs. It’s what I worked for.” With the pandemic looming, the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were postponed until 2021. Meets were canceled. Stadiums sat empty. Athletes withdrew to their protective bubbles in training facilities around the world. Katie trained at the old jeans factory with Brad and a handful of other vaulters. She was in the best shape of her life on that day in December 2020, when she tested positive for Covid-19. Even though hers was a relatively mild case, she was sick and bedridden for days. A devastating blow for an athlete whose Olympiad was only seven months away. She recovered physically from the virus, but the mental fog known to follow the illness continued to cloud her future. She couldn’t connect the dots on the runway, her timing was off, she felt somehow disconnected from her body. And then the fog began to lift. Things

began to click again. Mt. Olympus was in sight. “I’m not oblivious to the fact that we were very lucky,” she said. “It really worked out. I like to think that it was all part of God’s plan.” Katie has vaulted remarkably well in several outings since her recovery. She has proven to herself that she is fully recovered from her illness and that she can do amazing things, with or without the roar of the crowd. “I think that’s the best thing about working with Brad,” she said. “He has made it so logical. Whether it’s practice or competition, every time you come down that runway, you’re trying to execute things the same way. Even without a crowd, without the adrenaline, it’s the same thing every time. It doesn’t matter what’s happening around me, I’m dialed into those cues.” As a professional pole vaulter, Katie has flown around the world with her poles in the baggage compartment. But a short flight from Cleveland to Atlanta in mid-May ended disatrously when all nine of her poles arrived at the baggage claim area in the Atlanta airport, snapped in half like toothpicks. Imagine a pro golfer losing their clubs just before the Master’s, and then quadruple the emotional angst, because a golfer doesn’t depend on that trusty putter to carry them 16 feet in the air like Katie does. The vaulting community rallied, with three pole manufacturers rushing to provide replacements for her to try. The Trials were only a few weeks away. On borrowed poles, Katie vaulted into the world lead with a leap of 4.93 (16-2) in Marietta on May 23rd. Five days later, in Doha, Qatar, she won her first Diamond League meet of her career with a clearance at 4.84 (1510.5), which was equaled by second

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place finisher Sandi Morris. Back home, Katie planned two more warm-up meets before the Olympic Team Trials in Eugene. The winds in Nashville and the meet in Atlanta were perfect opportunities to prepare for the worst, and the best things to come. At the Music City Track Carnival held June 6th in Nashville, Tenn., stadium flags were blowing erratically as vaulters faced unpredictable winds on the runway. It was a go-no-go situation as Katie and her coach pondered whether to jump at all. But since weather conditions are likely to be just as unpredictable at Oregon’s Hayward Field, where rains soak and winds swirl, Katie was cleared for takeoff. She and her coach were well-pleased with 15-11 (4.85). “In Eugene, you never know what you’re going to get, so it was well worth it,” she said. After several test flights, Katie decided to jump on ESSX poles. Katie’s final tune-up on June 11 was to be held at Marietta High School, but thunderstorms moved the event indoors to the Atlanta Track Club’s facility. Instead of battling bad weather again, this was a chance to test her new poles in perfect conditions, and she made the most of the opportunity. At the Atlanta meet, there was a full field of women: Sandi Morris, Alina Macdonald, Jill Marois, Chloe Cunliffe, Anicka Newell, and Robin Bone to name a few. Katie set a new personal record with a world-leading vault of 4.94 (16-2.5) and just missed a new world record of 5.04 (16-6.4). Katie put the event in perspective in an email. “Brad was very excited! He

liked my attempts and liked the fact that I wasn’t on my biggest poles.” At the Trials, the pole vault will be contested in a qualifying round on June 24th and the final round on June 26th. The field of 24 vaulters will be whittled down to the top 12 on day one. After a day of rest, the event final will be contested June 26th. The top three will become Olympians. While the height Katie must clear on day one to advance to the finals will be a foot or more lower than her world-leading PR, the qualifying round is as nerve-wracking as it gets in pole vaulting, she said. Katie and Brad are doing everything they can to keep the

Trials from becoming an ordeal. “Coach and I are talking about the strategy of that prelim,” she said. “There is going to be an automatic qualifying height, where you jump that one time, you advance. My guess is it would be like a 4.60 or something. Brad had to do that back when he was at the Trials and it was a whole different kind of stress. So, I probably wouldn’t opt to do that. I’ll come in a little bit lower, to make sure I’m on it. It will make things a whole lot smoother, even if I have to take one more jump to get in.” Katie and Brad will fly commercial to Eugene. Her new poles will fly on a

separate cargo plane to ensure they arrive safely when it matters most. It’s unclear how many spectators will see the U.S. Olympic Trials or the Tokyo Olympics itself, due to covid restrictions. But Katie’s mom and siblings will be cheering from the stands at the new Hayward Field. Katie is ready to make her childhood dreams come true. “Two months ago, I was still doubting myself and I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to feel good on the runway again because that mind body connection was just so off. I’m just ecstatic that it’s coming together, and that it’s coming together now.”

Photo provided by Katie Nageotte

Never Surrender A Recipe for Success By Jose R. San Miguel This is the athletic story of Sofia San Miguel, an average high school and collegiate pole vaulter who decided to re-write her personal history. Two years after her college

career ended, while working a full-time job, and coaching part-time at a local high school, in the midst of the pandemic, Sofia achieved her highest heights yet.

The most valuable bench warmer on her middle school basketball team, Sofia practiced hard, but seldom played. Not because she was not athletic, but because of the politics of coaches playing their friends’ kids. When Sofia was on the court, she scored. As a father, I was furious and vocal about the lack of rotating players in a middle school game. Whether the team was winning or losing by twenty points, the same five played. One day, my daughter was finally on the court, but three other athletes were being denied play time when there was no chance of victory. I started to chant from across the gym, “Play the bench! Play the bench!” With that, we knew the end of Sofia’s basketball career was eminent. I was thrilled! But she did not want to be a pole vaulter. In the early years of Pole Vault Carolina, we had a pit in our backyard and a handful of vaulters training with us. It was an excellent group! In 2012, three of our five vaulters made it to New Balance Nationals Indoors and Outdoors, including Harrison Booth, a 5th place finisher who was our first non-family member vaulter; our first New Balance medalist; and our first college recruit. Harrison convinced Sofia to join practice.

As a freshman, Sofia jumped 9’6” before breaking her ankle while competing in the 100H. She fell on the first hurdle, got up, and cleared the next nine on her injured right leg. I raced alongside, yelling for her to stop. I was mad as hell and asked her why she didn’t. She said that I had always told her to finish the race. With her ankle broken in three places, I knew then Sofia had the fierce competitiveness it takes to be a pole vaulter.

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When she recovered, we worked on reinforcing her strengths and improving her weaknesses. Sofia jumped on big poles for a high school girl, 13’ 165, about 30 pounds over

her weight, because she was fast and had an awesome takeoff. She attended private sessions at a gymnastics club to learn to kip and swing over the high bar. Even though her hands dripped blood, she was not able to master it, nor how to do a proper back roll. But, she tried. In 2014, Sofia represented Puerto Rico in the Central American and Caribbean Junior Games placing fourth, and becoming the third pole vaulter in the family to compete for Puerto Rico. She finished high school with a PR of 11’6 tying for first place at the 2015 NCHSAA Indoor State Championships. Another injury ended her outdoor season, but not before she was given a walk-on spot at Appalachian State University. Perseverance paid off.

Three months after Sofia started at App, Pole Vault Carolina moved to an indoor facility, and attracted a new generation of vaulters. They accomplished great things using our new set-up, with 100+ poles, and equipment that Sofia and the others before her never had while in high school. Quickly, Sofia’s name was erased from the top 5 lists for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. It was painful to watch as a father; as a coach it was thrilling to see the new vaulters benefit from what we now had. Sofia’s college career was as challenging as her high school one. Her coach changed her running mechanics and removed a skip at the start of her run, which resulted in many practices filled with run throughs and frustrations. She did not PR until her first meet of her junior year, after her coach agreed to let her go back to her high school run and skip. Imagine attending practice 5 days a week for 22 months - about 260 jumping practices with 15 jumps per practice equates to over 3,900 jumps without improvement at the bar. But Sofia was intent on working through the issues. She finished 4th at the Sunbelt Conference meet that spring. A concussion in the outdoor season

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Photo provided by Pole Vault Carolina

of her senior year abruptly ended her collegiate career with a PR of 12’2.25”, an 8.25” improvement in four years’ time. Commitment. Sofia was not done. After healing from the concussion and adjusting to her full-time job, she came up with a plan to pole vault our way - BTTW. Yes, Balls to the Wall. She hired a personal trainer to bolster her strength and speed. Improving her diet, she transformed her body. She took the humbling route of returning to train at the club with a group of talented teenagers who out-jumped and out-drilled her daily. The path was not easy, but Sofia stayed the course.

In February of 2020, she tied her collegiate PR, and placed in the top three at several college / open meets. She jumped confidently. In mid-March 2020, we closed the club due to Covid-19 and quickly realized it would be a while before we could reopen. While most accepted the outcome of the cancelled season, Sofia ran hills in our neighborhood, lifted weights in the garage, and did drills with a stubbie until we reopened in June. The shutdown stoked her hunger and determination. We set a goal of preparing for the 2020-21 season and planned to be ready to PR as soon as we were able to host meets. With the uncertainty of unattached athletes being allowed to compete in open meets, and colleges not hosting indoor meets, we knew she had to make every opportunity count.

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Sofia competed at our facility, as well as at three college meets as an unattached athlete. In March, she won at the University of Mount Olive with a new personal best of 12’10”, and on May 16 she took on the field for the last competition of her season and won at North Carolina A&T with another PR of 12’11.5. Sofia is currently ranked #8 on Puerto Rico’s all-time list. For some, jumping 12’11.5” is a piece of cake. For most, jumping a nine inch PR two years after finishing college and while working full time, is a rare feat. If you have not accomplished your goals, don’t quit; you will always have regrets. Instead, recommit with a focus of enjoying the journey, the good days and the bad. Train with passion, and listen to your body. Eventually you will breakthrough. In order to succeed in pole vault and life, you need to be committed, dedicated, and resilient. You also have to be patient in order to see the best of yourself come to fruition. The next time life, a meet, a season, does not go as planned, re-group and re-start, but never quit. Your success is around the corner. My daughter accomplished what many thought impossible for her. I, however, have no doubt that her greatest jumps lie ahead.

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KEON HOWE

Destination: TOKYO When did you realize that you wanted to take a shot at making an Olympic team?

same goal of improving, but the extra year will just help me showcase it better.

When I was in high school, I used to tell people that I aspired to be like this collegiate guy from Ole Miss named Sam Kendricks. I followed his journey to the 2016 Olympics. As I became a Division I vaulter myself, a goal for the Olympics started settling in my head.

How have you handled adversity or setback in your athletic career and what was the process like?

Who has been the most influential person in your athletic development and why? It is really hard to answer this question because I owe my athletic development to a medley of coaches who have all made significant impacts on specific aspects of my growth. Brett Houghton introduced me to the sport; Bill Halverson gave me guidance and direction early in my career; Coach Bob Oleson supported me; my parents helped with important decision making, and so many others influenced the footsteps on my path. It’s hard for me to put one person over the other because all of them shaped me into the vaulter I am today. What changed in your training to take you from an average pole vaulter to an Olympic hopeful? Goal setting skills and order were two things that changed as I became more advanced. I started setting measurable goals with due dates that would allow me to accurately track my progress within the sport. I went from coming to practice and just winging it, to knowing what to expect from training before showing up. How did the postponement of the 2020 Olympics affect you or help you?

It gave me more time to put together a better debut. I aspire to be a consistent elite level vaulter who can continue to execute Olympic level performances leading up to and following the Olympic games. I remain with the

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I always look at setbacks like failsafe training. It excites me to think about how much stronger I can become after overcoming the adversity. I try to take as much information from it as possible so that I can either prevent it or know how to handle the problem in the future. What is your training routine in preparation for the Olympic Trials? I am figuring out how my body reacts in different situations so that I can deliver a consistent high-level performance when it matters. I’m learning what kind of diet, weather, and physical conditions affect my jumps and formulate as close as I can to a “perfect meet” so I am ready for whatever comes. How do you prepare emotionally to train and compete? I pray and reflect. I give myself closure for any of my successes or shortcomings beforehand so that no mental wounds or negative emotions get in the way of my goals. With limited meets taking place as a result of Covid-19, how are you approaching the year? ‘Uncertainty’ has been a theme for the year so I am just grateful for anything I am able to do during these crazy times. If you knew then what you know now, what would you have changed about your athletic career? I would have started pole vaulting so much earlier! I still can’t believe I went through the

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Photo provided by Keon Howe

majority of my life without knowing a sport like this even existed! What have you sacrificed to chase the Olympic dream? I wouldn’t call them sacrifices because chasing the Olympic dream is so fun for me. I would gladly “sacrifice” a lot of things to pursue this. I do put a lot of time into it so I have had to turn down opportunities to hang out with friends or sleep, but I wouldn’t call them “sacrifices” because I don’t miss that time when I am training. What do you do to support yourself financially? I am a part-time drummer and drumline instructor, but due to the pandemic, I am currently trying to figuring this out myself as I

transition out of college. How do you think becoming an Olympian would change your life? It wouldn’t really change much because there is always a next thing to strive for, but it would be nice to accomplish that goal. What are your interests and professional goals outside of pole vaulting? I’d like to get a skydiving license that would allow me to use a squirl suit or perform as a stuntman in movies at some point in my life. What is something most people don’t know about you? I have a super power that only activates under specific conditions that I can’t disclose.

Photo provided by Keon Howe

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Photo provided by Keon Howe

LUIS JOEL CASTRO

Destination: TOKYO When did you realize that you wanted to take a shot at making an Olympic team? When I was twenty-one years old, I realized I may have what it takes to become an Olympian. From an early age, my parents preached the importance of healthy physical activity, which gave me the opportunity to experiment with many different sports. Those experiences helped me become the athlete I am today. Who has been the most influential person in your athletic development and why? The most influential person in my athletic development is my coach, Carlos Acosta. He always inspires me to believe in myself. He holds very high expectations for me which have pushed me to the limit of my abilities. Carlos was the first Puerto Rican to clear 7’ in the high jump, and is now the high jump coach at University of Puerto Rico. I started track and field at 17 years old, under the coaching of Pablo Joe Siari of Carolina Perchy in Puerto Rico. Carlos noticed me while I was a high school senior at Colegio Bautista in Carolina during a basketball game. Basketball was my first passion. What changed in your training to take you from an average athlete to a 2016 and 2021 Olympian? I have not made many changes to my training through the years. I became a 2016 Olympian because of the constant dedication, discipline, and perseverance to accomplish great things. From a young age, I had the vision to represent my country and be among the best in the world. My initial goal was to make it to the NBA, but I am thrilled to have found high jump as I have been able to represent Puerto Rico.

How did the postponement of the 2020 Olympics affect you or help you?

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The delay of the 2020 Olympics allowed me time to heal from a very long 2018-19 season that ended in October at the World Championships in Doha. The pandemic allowed me to rest physically and mentally, and have time to rebuild my body through a proper conditioning phase. How have you handled adversity or setback in your athletic career and what was the process like? I look at adversity in my athletic career as a learning experience, and never lost the faith that I would achieve my goals. Adversity is part of the process to achieve success. What is your training routine in preparation for the Olympics? My training routine has not changed much from what I did to become a 2016 Olympian and what I did to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Our training system has proven successful. How do you prepare emotionally to train and compete? Although I do not have a specific routine to get emotionally ready for practices and competition, I always rely on a good playlist and a solid warm up. What have you sacrificed to chase the Olympic dream? I would not consider that becoming an Olympian is a sacrifice. I do what I am passionate about, and I am where I want to be, with people I love and respect. I have all I need, and I have no regrets. What do you do to support yourself financially? Track and Field is not a sport where athletes make a lot of money. I am fortunate to be

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Photo provided by Luis Joel Castro

able to earn a living as a professional athlete. I get appearance fees from meets I compete at; I have sponsors; I receive a stipend from the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee; and I am a high jump coach in Cologne, Germany where I live and train. What are your interests and professional goals outside of high jump? Outside of my athletic career, I would like to become a collegiate coach for a tier-1 university. If you knew then what you know now, what would you have changed about your athletic career? I would not change a thing. Everything I have done has gotten me to this point. I have fully enjoyed the journey and experiences and am excited to be weeks away from becoming a 2-time Olympian. With limited meets taking place as a result

of Covid-19, how are you approaching the year? Unlike many other athletes throughout the world, I have not been affected by the fewer meets available at this level. I have had the opportunity to compete as often as we had planned. How did becoming an Olympian change your life? Becoming an Olympian in 2016 changed my life drastically. I am recognized by track and field fans, which affords me the opportunity to serve and inspire other athletes who are in their developmental stages. What is something most people don’t know about you? Although people see me competing full of confidence on the world’s greatest stages, I deal with insecurities and doubts just like everyone else.

Photo provided by Luis Joel Castro

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Photo provided by Luis Joel Castro

WESLEY VAZQUEZ

Destination: TOKYO

When did you realize that you wanted to take a shot at making an Olympic team?

I have been running since I was 6 years old. Seeing potential and athleticism in me, my father signed me up for youth track and field in Orocovis, Puerto Rico. By the time I was twelve I was good, and running became my passion. Who has been the most influential person in your athletic development and why? The most influential people in my athletic career, besides my family and coaches, are Alberto Juantorena and Javier Culson. Juantorena represented Cuba, and was the 1976 Montreal Olympic champion in the 400 meters and 800 meters. He is a hero for everyone in the Caribbean. I hope to accomplish the times of 44 seconds in the 400 meters and 1:43 in the 800 meters as Juantorena did in the 1970’s. Javier Culson represented Puerto Rico in the 400 meter hurdles and won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic games. He was the first Puerto Rican to win an Olympic medal in track and field. He now has a successful career in real estate. Culson inspired me to set and reach goals never achieved by other Puerto Rican athletes. He has advised me to have a life plan outside of sports, and to save money to secure my future. What changed in your training to take you from an average athlete to a 2012, 2016, and 2021 Olympian? I ran because I liked it and it was fun. I did not realize how good I was as a high schooler in Puerto Rico compared to the rest of the world. In 2012, after winning gold at the Central American and Caribbean Junior Games in El Salvador, I competed at the IAAF World Junior Championships without really understanding the magnitude of the successes. For me it was another meet until I finished 4th in the world and realized I have the potential to be among the best.

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Amazingly, four weeks after that, I competed in my first Olympic Games in London as an 18 year-old high school graduate. My high school personal best in the 800 meters was 1:45. Four years later, I made it to the finals at the 2016 Olympic Games. In 2019, I finished 5th at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Next month, I will have the honor of competing in my third Olympic Games in Tokyo. How did the postponement of the 2020 Olympics affect you or help you? The pandemic greatly impacted my training and development. Due to all of the interruptions in my training in 2020, I suffered a leg injury. The delay of the Olympics has given me the time to recover and get ready for Tokyo. How have you handled adversity or setback in your athletic career and what was the process like? I have been injured and have gotten back on my feet. I have a great team of coaches, physical therapists, and family who have assisted me in regaining my place among the top sprinters in the world. What is your training routine in preparation for the Olympics? Everything has changed in my training between the 2012 and 2016 Games, and this Olympic training cycle. Due to science, training methods, and an extremely knowledgeable coach, today my training sessions are not as exhausting and strenuous as in previous years. They are based on quality, not quantity, and proper recovery. I have been able to achieve great success as a result of the changes, for which I am grateful. How do you prepare emotionally to train and compete? I understand the responsibility of being an Olympian. I enjoy it, it is my job, and I am 100% committed to be the best I can be. I get

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Photo provided by Wesley Vazques

to represent my country, and be an inspiration to others. I know I have to give all I’ve got every single time.

With limited meets taking place as a result of Covid-19, how are you approaching the year?

What have you sacrificed to chase the Olympic dream?

This year has been extremely challenging. I have had limited opportunities to train. Until March 2021, I was recovering from an injury, and then was sick with Covid-19. I remain committed to reach my goals in Tokyo. Training will be challenging, but I believe in myself.

The journey to become an Olympian has been great but it definitely has not been easy. I have sacrificed a lot, particularly time with my family. What do you do to support yourself financially? My family assists me; I receive a stipend from the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee; and I have several sponsors. I continue to study and prepare myself for the next chapter of my life when I hope to be in business for myself.

How did becoming an Olympian change your life? Becoming a 2-time Olympian has provided some financial stability, and also something money cannot buy – the love and appreciation of the people of Puerto Rico.

What are your interests and professional goals outside of track and field?

If you knew then what you know now, what would you have changed about your athletic career?

I would like to take advantage of the opportunities I have been given through the sport to assist other athletes in their journeys.

If I could change something about my athletic career it would be to dedicate more time to recovery, and to take care of my body from an early age in order to the prevent the injuries that have plagued my career. Also, I would spend more time working on my athletic maturity and development.

What is something most people don’t know about you? Most people don’t know that I am a competitor in everything I do. I don’t quit and if I fail, I will get back up no matter how challenging it is.

Photo provided by Wesley Vazques

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COACH’S CRITIQUE Tim Reilly breaks down technique in this analysis of a vault by Pole Vault Carolina athlete Bailey Tart. Read more from Tim Reilly on page 49.

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Run Your approach starts with a strong push with high cycling mechanics that gradually quicken in tempo all the way. Your pole carry is fairly weightless, supported by your skeleton rather than torqued back muscles seen in many young kids carrying too low or with too much tension in their arms. Pole position during runup Minor adjustments I might encourage in your plant are to let the pole drop to a slightly lower point before initiating the plant. It should be about at head level at this point. Yours is a bit high on the 2-step , and this adjustment could free you to quicken your final strides even more.

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Plant In this video, you get a little inside at takeoff, as most young athletes do, but it is a minor thing in your case. We’d rather not see the pole bending until your free knee passes your support knee. Since you don’t reach for this finale stride, it’s merely a matter of moving out your starting point 3-6”. Plant off of the ground Problems begin into flight when you lose a little tension in your trail leg and fold it up into the swing. While it looks pretty great the moment you toe off, you lose elastic tension and your center of mass by trying to swing with the shortened trail leg. The third photo shows a second mistake that does not happen in all of your jumps, which is the pulling/collapsing of the bottom arm to initiate swing combined with the shortening of the trail leg.

COACH’S CRITIQUE

SWING

SWI N G

Swing A final adjustment is needed to get you realigned with your unbending pole through the turn. For various reasons, your heels arc down into the bar as the pole unbends and you crest the bar on your backside before turning. Empowering the swing as described above will help get your hips up higher and keep you behind the bending pole a little longer while you are inverting. Luckily, you do not get stuck in the bucket with hips below shoulders as most young vaulters do. But most often your lower body is too far ahead of the pole to ride the rocket so to speak off the top. You are also getting your left elbow caught behind or outside the pole which inhibits proper turning.

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Commentary Bailey, first of all, I congratulate you for your success so far. You’re clearly a good athlete who has been well coached in the phases of the vault I consider to be paramount, which are the approach, pole drop/ plant and takeoff. Normally when athletes manifest troubled top ends, the root cause is on the ground. For the most part, this is not your case. Though swing styles vary, all world class vaulters initiate flight with a firm, stretched out body and initiate their swing with an extended trail leg, preserving and even adding to pole rotation velocity after they leave the ground. The first focus for you here should be the takeoff strike. Be sure it’s an aggressive vertical punch that engages your whole left side from the hip down. Second, include swing activation drills to reprogram your nervous system to swinging long. Hanging rings, running rings, straight pole swing ups to deep landings and light pole swing ups that flex a little without much bottom arm emphasis, again, to a deep landing. In practice, make long swings a requirement for swinging over bars. If the trail leg shortens, remove the bar and return to the activation drills. Realigning the top end takes reprogramming drills as well, and I know of no better exercise than the deep swing drill which is to use a light pole from 3 lefts to swing to the deepest reach of the pit as possible, staying perfectly straight toward the back end. Because most athletes do this decently on a straight pole and dang few do it well with a bent one, I bridge this divide with a light pole that will flex a little as the athlete swings the hips to the top hand. Emphasize the punchy jump off the ground first to establish pole speed before swing speed, whip the extended trail leg, not a shortened one, and finish with the hips and top hand closed off together, bottom arm flexed in against the body. As your coach I would stand behind the pit in the center, calling you farther and farther toward me with your feet. Once you can engage the swing well enough to get your hips up to your top hand while there is still a little flex in the pole, you’ll start to feel a pop at the top that will launch you beyond the pole. Once you can do this without a turn, you can begin initiating a turn around the top hand and landing on your left side, over onto your tummy or corkscrewing a full 360 onto your back again. A couple of reminders. This deep swing drill on a light pole that flexes without bottom arm emphasis can dramatically accelerate your progress on larger poles and higher grips, but bending the pole is not the objective, vaulting with proper positions and movement is. Once mastered in this small and safe context, it can be enlarged with longer runs, higher grips and stiffer poles. I know you will find that swinging long and realigning the top is SO empowering to your vault that your pole sizes and heights attained will explode. You’re that good an athlete. Congratulations again on your success, and please count me among your team of supporters moving forward. Best, Tim Reilly NWPV Club

John Tillman

IF I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW... 1992 Olympian, Triple Jump First, let me acknowledge that I am grateful for the 13 years of triumphs and trials I experienced while competing in track and field. When I first stepped on a track, I had no clue how far this sport could take me or how hard I would have to work to get there.

placed them above my bed so that every morning when I woke up, I would be reminded of my goal. That season at the NCAA National Championships, I jumped 55 feet 7 inches, and finished second behind 3-time Olympian Michael Conley. I was ecstatic!

By my senior year at the University of Tennessee I had competed in nearly every state in the union, and dozens of countries thereafter, on a quest to find out just how good I could become. For me it was a deeply personal quest; one that had little to do with fame and even less to do with money. I had a burning desire to answer a simple question: what is my potential?

Now, for what I would have done differently - I was too patient. Triple jumpers can compete at a high level well into their 30’s. Willie Banks set a world record when he was around 30 years of age. I thought I had plenty of time. I took for granted that I would be competing in this sport I loved well for many years, so I could set my biggest goals later.

Over the years, I won conference, states, and nationals; I made an Olympic team. But there was one goal I hesitated to set. If I had known then what I know now, things might have been different. I have learned that it is important to be crystal clear about what you want. As a sophomore at UT, my goal was to jump 55 feet in the triple jump. To my mind that was the magic number; a dividing line that separated good jumpers from great ones. Besides that, it would make me the school record holder and get my picture on the “wall of fame,” where national champions, All-Americans and school record-setters hung out.

I cut two large 5’s out of pizza boxes and

But, life happens; injuries, employment, family responsibilities. Unless you are a professional athlete or independently wealthy, track is but for a season. In my heart I felt that I could become the best triple jumper on the planet. But I never committed to it. Sure I became an Olympian; however, I never decided and clearly stated that “I will be the best triple jumper on the planet.” I planned to get to it, but life got to me first. These days I’m busy with new goals. I look back on my athletic career fondly. I feel fortunate to have found something that brought me so much joy. Old rivals have become lasting friends. But, if I could do it all over again, I’d get me some pizza boxes and cut out “Best Triple Jumper on The Planet,” and tape it over my bed.

John Tillman is a triple jumper who competed at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. John was a six time All American at the University of Tennessee. John is a track & field coach at Parkwood High School in Monroe, North Carolina. Personal Best: TJ – 17.13i (1989), 16.98o (1989).

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Photo credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

Photo provided by John Tillman

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