The TAKEOFF Magazine

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

Cover photo provided by Jordan Gray

HELLO THERE!

May 2022

The question is not, why can’t women decathlon? They can. The question is, why is it not offered universally? Team USA decathlete and world record holder Jordan Gray is not waiting for an answer, she is petitioning for change. Our cover story by Ralph Hardy begins on page 20.

In ClubHub you will meet athletes Keira Hight and Zane Gibson from Flicky Stick Pole Vault in Cartersville GA, and Kourtney Rathke and Megan Kelleghan from Above the Bar Pole Vault in Boulder, CO.

Olympic hurdler Hector Cotto joins us in If I Knew Then with a passionate piece on what it takes to win in track and field.

Maddie Davies penned the story behind Tim Werner’s Swing-Up Rack, the pole vault training tool that improves every vaulter’s swing and strength.

Princeton University recruit Tessa Mudd is a fierce competitor and supportive teammate who gives her best every time. Julianna Hallyburton brings us Tessa’s story on page 16.

We welcome Summer McNeill back to the page to instruct us on the basics of a healthy diet in our Nutrition section, page 14.

Middlebury neuroscience major and pole vaulter, Leah Granger, wrote What’s Behind a Good Jump Day for the Mental Health department, page 18.

Pole Vault Carolina coach Jose R. San Miguel coached 6 state champions this season! He breaks down freshman Jack Tan’s jump in Coach’s Critique.

We hope you enjoy issue #9!

All the Very Best, Adele

P.S. Have you signed the petition to let women decathlon? Click here to access it.

ON DECK

Issue Number 9

Letter from The Editor 3

Makes and Misses 6

ClubHub: Flicky Stick Pole Vault 10 Above the Bar Pole Vault 12

NUTRITION: Basics of a Healthy Diet 14

RECRUITED: Tessa Mudd ‘s Path to Princeton 16

MENTAL HEALTH: What’s Behind a Good Jump Day? 18

Jordan Gray: Let Women Decathlon 20

Tim Werner’s Swing-Up Rack 24

Coach’s Critique with Jose R. San Miguel 26

If I Knew Then with 2008 Olympian Hector Cotto 30

Thank you to the following companies for advertising with us in this issue: Kanstet Runways, FiberSport Vaulting Poles, and RockBack Bags.

2X NCHSAA State Champion, Pole Vault Duke Track & Field Class of 2026

Tim Werner’s Swing Up Rack Playwright Masters Pole Vaulter

Jordan Gray Can Count to Ten

Maddie Davies

Ralph Hardy

Leah Granger Neuroscience student

College

Julianna Hallyburton

Summer McNeill

Jose R. San Miguel

MAKES & MISSES

By Adele San Miguel

Mostly we just coach pole vault, but sometimes we are able to assist on a larger scale.

On April 16, our club, Pole Vault Carolina, hosted The Pole Vault for Ukraine Invitational. We asked each of our athletes to support the critical need for refugee children of Ukraine, who had walked out of their homes with few personal possessions to escape war.

Ukraine has a rich history in the pole vault. Sergey Bubka is from the city of Luhansk and was the first pole vaulter to clear 6.0 meters and also 6.10 meters. Sergey broke the world record 35 times and inspired pole vaulters all over the world to seek higher heights. The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and track and field equipment company, USC Spirit forged a path to refugee camps, which is where our aid has been sent.

Pole Vault Carolina athletes asked for donations from their neighbors, churches, and schools so a child or teenager like themselves in Ukraine, whom they will never meet, will have something clean to wear, or a frisbee to throw while they hope for a brighter tomorrow.

UCS Spirit filmed a video message from Steve Chappell, produced by Debbie Chappell, that we played. Ukrainian Olympian Yana Hladi-

ychuk wrote a letter that connected our little effort in Durham, North Carolina to the devastating events still unfolding in Ukraine.

Our families hauled in bags and boxes of blankets, clothes for children, teens, adults, and small sports equipment. They handed us checks and donated through Venmo.

After willing the rain away, 27 athletes and their families crowded our outdoor facility - an area we refer to as The Backyard. A DJ (our fifteenyear-old son, Antonio) blasted music and took song requests. Parents danced on the sidelines, personal records were achieved, and a community strengthened through service.

With the money raised we purchased new shoes, under clothing, first aid and feminine hygiene products. Our vaulters learned that kindness makes a difference and we are stronger when we work together. We sent a pallet with an estimated 1,000 items on it.

Pole vault is bigger than all of us. We are an ecosystem of vaulters, coaches, parents and grandparents, from the beginners to the pros. Our purpose is each other - and this is higher than the bar. Ukraine, we see you demonstrating your personal greatness, and we root for your peace.

Photo provided by

Photo provided by Yana Hladiychuk

Letter from Yana Hladiychuk

Photo provided by Yana Hladiychuk

Lacey Hight

Photo credit Meryn Johnson

Flicky Stick Pole Vault

Keira Hight

Coachability. That is Keira Hight’s strong suit. ‘As a coach you want your athlete to focus on the task at hand, be open to change, seek feedback, accept failure as a learning opportunity, and strive to execute on instructions to the best of their abilities,” says Coach Kurt Hess. “Keira Hight is truly coachable and is a pleasure to have at Flicky Stick.”

A junior at Sequoyah High School who is dual enrolled at Kennesaw State University, Keira is a busy student athlete who is also a triple jumper, cheerleader, a member of the Beta Club and the National Honor Society.

Keira pushes herself and trusts her coaches, but she struggled early on. Her freshman year was cut short due to Covid and she grappled with motivation. Her fire for pole vault reignited once she reestablished a practice routine and saw improvement.

Placing second at the GHSA 6A state championships and winning the county meet last season are two highlights of Keira’s career.

In a tune up competition for County, Keira suffered from painful shin splints. Coach Hess permitted her to take one jump and said she needed to choose wisely. Keira entered the meet at 9’6, cleared it, and went for 10’6. With ease, she

jumped 11’1” and went on to win the pole vault and the triple jump at the county meet. She has since improved her personal bests in both events: pole vault 11’8.5” and triple jump 35’3.75”.

Keira is working on staying on the pole longer at the top of her vault. Coach Hess sums it up: “With Keira’s work ethic and positive attitude, she will reach higher heights and succeed in anything she sets out to do.”

Photo provided by Lacey Hight.

Cartersville, GA Head Coaches: Kurt Hess

Zane Gibson

When an athlete says that falling on the mat after clearing the bar is his favorite part of the event, you know he is someone who loves the thrill of pole vault!

Off the runway, Zane Gibson is easy going and appreciates the simple productivity of rest. On the runway, he is strong and aggressive. He has cleared 15’ in every meet this season except one when weather conditions challenged every competitor. His current personal best is 15’6’.

“Zane has the physical qualities to be a great vaulter: speed, strength, aggression, power, and height,” says Coach Hunter Arnold. “But it is his character traits that show his true potential in the sport. Zane’s mental toughness, respect, coachability, integrity, work ethic, and willingness to change are what propelled him to excellence this year more than any of his previous years.”

The Etowah High School junior, who also plays basketball, came to pole vaulting after watching his brother vault. His father, an avid disc golfer, has influenced him to be the best athlete he can be. Zane is inspired by Mondo Duplantis, Piotr Lisek, and the Guttormsen brothers, Sondre and Simen.

His favorite pole vault memory was besting two seniors in a mock meet as a freshman. Challenged by shin splints, Zane is currently working on

jumping through the takeoff instead of jumping at it. The current school record holder, Zane Gibson has more to give pole vault and those in it.

Coach Arnold adds, “Zane is a great teammate to the other vaulters at Flicky Stick and a positive role model to younger vaulters who are learning to love the sport.”

Photo provided by Rene Gibson.

Above The Bar Pole Vault

Boulder, CO

Head Coach: Pat Manson

TMegan Kelleghan

All pole vaulters like to fly, but Megan Kelleghan prefers to soar!

The former flyer in competitive cheer, Megan is a 2-time 4A state champion who holds the school record at Silver Creek High School in the pole vault and the 4X100. She is a 2022 New Balance All American who has lettered academically and athletically. She also competes in dressage.

Megan is the youngest of six kids and her mom thought she would enjoy pole vault. They sought training from Above the Bar Pole Vault Club. Coach Pat Manson has been a source of inspiration for Megan, and has this to say about her: “Megan has worked hard from the beginning to have an amazing approach run, which combined with her aggressive approach attitude, makes for an impressive last three steps into her vault, rain or shine. She strives to improve every day, and I can’t wait to see where she goes with pole vault and in her equestrian and academic endeavors.”

After dealing with small injuries, Megan decided to spend more time warming up. She prepares her body for practice using resistance bands to activate her muscles.

Megan’s favorite pole vault memory is from the 2021 Colorado state meet when, empowered by a crowd of people cheering her to victory, she

claimed the state title and the state record.

Currently working on pushing out her bottom arm and keeping pressure on her top hand, Megan hopes to study sports medicine at a D1 school. As a junior with an impressive personal record of 13’ 4.5”, that goal is within easy reach.

She looks forward to climbing the Matterhorn with her family this summer!

Photo provided by Kim Kelleghan.

Kourtney Rathke

Though only in 10th grade, Kourtney Rathke is a trailblazer.

Kourtney won the 2021 T-Mobile Changemaker Challenge with a solution to bridge the digital divide between students in rural and metro Colorado. With this, she co-founded the Mobile Innovation Center, which develops STEM workshops for students in underserved areas.

Pole vault did not come naturally to the former gymnast, but a stream of encouragement from her coaches kept her in the sport. A stress fracture early in her career forced Kourtney to take time off. She worked on strength and returned with an excellent trail leg from all the Bubkas.

An event that ends in three misses brings challenges, but Kourtney accepts failure as part of growth and focuses on what she can control. On a bad day, she analyzes what happened and learns what to do better the next time.

Coach Manson says “Kourtney is the poster child for a growth mindset. She works very hard and smart for the next thing she needs to be a better vaulter and student. She is a champion who raises her game at bigger meets. Kourtney is a joy to coach.”

Kourtney won the 3A 2022 Colorado state title after the event was delayed by a snow storm, resulting

in pole vault being held late at night. In a freezing cold, nearly empty stadium, she broke the state meet record with 12’11”. Kourtney also won the long jump and took second in the 100 hurdles.

The 2021 Colorado USATF Track Athlete of the Year, Kourtney placed third at the 2022 New Balance Indoor High School Nationals with a PR of 13’3.5”.

Kourtney says that flying with poles leads to airport adventures and great stories!

Photo provided by Kourtney Rathke.

Basics of a DietHealthy

By Summer C. McNeill | B.S. Nutrition and Dietetics

Why Does a Healthy Diet Matter?

Nutrition is the foundation of health. A healthy diet can help protect you against many diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Aside from protecting you against potentially life-threatening diseases, eating healthy just makes you feel good and helps your body function at its best.

Athletes

As athletes you have an increased energy expenditure and an increased nutrient need when compared to non-athletes. A diet filled with nutrient dense foods from a variety of sources will improve your performance and help to maximize your recovery between workouts.

How to Build a Balanced Plate?

A healthy diet includes a variety of foods from all five food groups; fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy. An ideal plate should contain a food from 3-5 of these groups. In addition to the five food groups, you also need to stay hydrated.

Fruits can come in the form of whole fruit, 100% fruit juice, or dried fruits. Vegetable sources come from dark green veggies, red and orange veggies, starchy veggies, beans, peas, and lentils. Grains consist of any foods made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or another cereal grain. At least half of the grains

you eat should come from a whole grain source. Protein can be found in meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, soy products, and dairy. Dairy sources are milk, yogurt, and cheese. If you do not eat dairy, the closest calcium equivalent to cow’s milk is soy milk.

Stick to What You Know

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be difficult and confusing; and you definitely don’t have to give up your favorite foods. Don’t try to eliminate things from your diet; instead, focus on adding nutrient dense foods to the meals you already enjoy. Ask yourself, does my plate cover all, or the majority of the five food groups? Is there something I can add that will increase the variety and amount of nutrients I am getting? Is this something I enjoy eating?

Food should be fun. Not every meal is going to be “perfectly healthy”. Focus on adding stuff in when you can and don’t stress about the rest.

Eating healthy foods is an essential part of a healthy life, but not at the expense of your mentalwell-being. Sometimes going out to eat ice cream with friends is much healthier than eating a salad by yourself. Slowly swap and incorporate new nutrient dense foods into your normal routine and you’ll set yourself up for a long, healthy, and active life!

How to spruce up some common snacks and meals

Resources

- My Plate: https://www.myplate.gov/

- Find a dietitian here: https://www.eatright.org/find-a-nutrition-expert?rdType=url_edit&rdProj=fane_update&rdInfo=fae

- If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support/contact-helpline

- Instagram: @endless.summer.nutrition

TESSA MUDD’s Path to Princeton

By Julianna Hallyburton

Photo provided by Tessa Mudd

As a young girl, Tessa Mudd thought she would hate pole vaulting, but her childhood babysitter, Anthony, a collegiate vaulter himself, convinced her otherwise.

Ironically, Tessa became a 2X national indoor champion; she holds both the South Carolina high school indoor and outdoor records; she joined the 14’ club; and she will vault in college..

This is Tessa’s path to Princeton.

After 8 years of gymnastics, Tessa retired and took up competitive power tumbling and trampoline. She won two national titles in that sport and earned a spot on the junior national team. She also ran track in middle school.

Between her 8th grade and freshman years, before moving from Illinois to South Carolina, Tessa decided to take track more seriously since South Carolina did not have power tumbling. To Anthony’s delight, she also gave vaulting a try. Anthony immediately bought a pit for his backyard and had Tessa jumping on 10 and 11 feet poles. A severe case of Osgood-Schlatter disease prevented Tessa from competing while living up north. When the family moved south, Tessa met her new pole vault coach: Tom Reagan of the Mt. Pleasant Track Club.

An exceptional athlete, Tessa started her high school career in the 100m, 200m, and vault, but wasn’t too serious about it yet. She was also a middle blocker on the varsity volleyball team.

Tessa faced a huge challenge her sophomore year: extreme cramping in her calves. Tessa recalls that it “made training difficult and sometimes hurt my legs even to walk.”

After numerous visits to the doctor, MRI’s, X-rays, and supplements, Tessa’s thyroid doctor diagnosed her with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the thyroid. At first, Tessa was upset, but who wouldn’t be? After some time to process, Tessa said “it was nice to know what was causing me so much pain, and it was even better to know that there were ways to improve the day-today issues I was having.” By adopting a new supplement regime and making dietary changes, Tessa felt like herself again.

By her junior year, Tessa knew she wanted to vault in college. She stopped sprinting and focused all of her attention on pole vault.

Tessa hit training hard. She never backed down from a bigger pole or bigger bar. Coach Reagan said, “Tessa is the complete package you want for a prospective pole vaulter. She has the speed of a sprinter, the strength and spatial awareness of a gymnast, and just enough craziness to never question any pole I hand her. She just grabs the pole and goes for it. I have been blessed to be her coach.”

Tessa completed the year as the SCISA State Champion, USATF Regional and State Champion, Adidas Indoor National Champion, and she placed 3rd at the USATF Junior Olympics.

With an outstanding athletic and academic resume, Tessa just needed to figure out where she wanted to go. Princeton was fairly low on her list and it was her dad, Nate, who convinced her to reach out to the Ivy League schools. That’s when things fell in place.

After talking to Coach Reuben Jones, the recruiting coordinator, sprints, and horizontal jumps coach, Princeton moved to the top of her list, along with UNC-Chapel Hill. This was a tough decision for Tessa. Two outstanding schools with great academics and great athletics.

Ultimately, she went with her gut feeling and took an official visit at Princeton. She fell in love with the campus and met her future vault coach, Mike Maira. Coach Maira adds, “If I had to sum up the reason why we recruited Tessa, I would say that she is a tenacious competitor, yet humble and level-headed. I think that she has extraordinary upward potential (pun intended) due to her mindset, maturit,y and sheer athleticism.” Could not have said it better myself.

Tessa remarks “Princeton felt like the best place for me to continue growing as a student and athlete. I’m so happy with my decision and can’t wait to join the Tiger Vault Squad in the fall!”

Tessa continued a lofty progression her senior year. She won Adidas Indoor Nationals again, and joined the 14’ club with a jump of 14’1.25”, a double PR at one of the biggest meets a high schooler attends. Tessa earned herself the South Carolina Indoor HS All-Time Record and according to South Carolina Milesplit, is the first high school female to jump 14’ in the state’s history.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Tessa will continue to climb higher and higher. Her peers, classmates, friends, teammates, coaches, and family all can’t wait to see where Princeton takes Tessa on her new path: the one to even greater personal success.

Photo provided by Tim Reilly

What’s Behind a Good Jump Day

By Leah Granger

What’s Behind a Good Jump DayIn the Brain?

There is plenty of advice out there about how to best prepare your body for a good jump day. There is less literature on what explains the days when you sleep, fuel, and prepare your muscles correctly and the practice does not go well. What about the lucky day when you slept horribly, are super sore, and have the best vault practice of the season? The brain is a beautiful tool that can have huge effects on athletic performance for better or worse.

Let’s talk about what a stressed-out brain looks like, and how a relaxed environment can improve jump performance.

Many of us know how difficult vault practice can be when stressed. This feeling can come from a variety of sources. There are factors such as familial, social, and academic stress that originate off the track as well as factors like performance pressure from coaches, peers, or yourself on the track. Whatever it may be, stress takes over your mental state, keeping you from focusing on what keeps you safe and successful on the runway.

Biologically, stress greatly affects the autonomic nervous system. The ANS is in charge of processes in the body you do not have to think

about such as heart rate, digestion, and breathing. The two aspects of the ANS are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. These two systems oppose each other and cannot run at the same time. When stressed the sympathetic nervous system engages, which tells the body you may be in a dangerous situation. The calming, or parasympathetic system is not engaged under stress.

The sympathetic nervous system is what engages the “fight or flight” response with acute stress. This system prepares you biologically to deal with a threatening situation. It directs energy to increasing your heart rate, opening your airway, working up a sweat, and releasing adrenaline. This can be a very helpful response when a real threat is present. This can even be helpful for an important jump. The downside is that in order to kick your body into high gear, the system has to use a large amount of energy.

High energy demand is both distracting to the mind and tiring for the body. When you want to focus on your cues but are sweating and have a high heart rate from stress, the last thing your brain wants you to think about is your cues. There is only so much energy for signaling in the brain. When there are threats present, the brain prioritizes the functions it deems most important

for survival, like engagement of the sympathetic nervous system, leaving less energy for more deliberate thoughts, like vaulting technique.

We know that too much stress can negatively impact performance. In order to avoid those effects, we have to engage the system that decreases the stress response. The parasympathetic nervous system calms the body back down. It decreases the heart rate, relaxes the airway, and constricts blood vessels. Activating this system both relieves stress and inhibits the sympathetic nervous system from telling your body there is a threat.

Behaviorally, reducing stress looks like gaining confidence. In practice, believing in the self comes from both physical and mental work. Physically, conditioning and drills boost confidence because they improve performance. Mentally, self-assurance comes from hard work on internal mental thought patterns as well as improved external environment.

Of the ways to decrease stress, improving the external environment is the most accessible. Creating an encouraging setting begins with coaches and extends to teammates. Getting excited for yourself, your athletes, or your teammates can produce surprising improvement in performance. Playing music and incorporating games into

Photo provided by Barbara Hayward

practice are two ideas that can make this dangerous sport more approachable.

Having a good jump day means more than preparing your body. Your mind has to be in the right space to optimize your energy. Creating a positive atmosphere is the easiest way to engage the parasympathetic nervous system and help athletes best perform at practice. While drive is often seen as the most imperative trait for pole vaulters, biology shows that enjoying the sport helps improve performance because of reduced stress.

References:

Bear, Mark F., author. Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. Chapter 22: Mental Illnesses. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer, 2016.

Rathschlag M, Memmert D. The influence of self-generated emotions on physical performance: an investigation of happiness, anger, anxiety, and sadness. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2013 Apr;3 5(2):197210. doi: 10.1123/jsep.35.2.197. PMID: 23535977.

Ulrich-Lai, Yvonne M, and James P Herman. “Neural regulation of endocrine and autonomic stress responses.” Nature reviews. Neuroscience vol. 10,6 (2009): 397-409. doi:10.1038/nrn2647

Sydney Horn

Jordan Gray: Let Women Decathlon

Higher at High Point

From across a video monitor in River Falls, Wisconsin, Jordan Gray, combined event athlete, is giving me a math lesson on Zoom. It goes like this: 5 is less than 7 which is less than 10. And anything less than ten can’t be equal to ten, therefore female combined event athletes are treated as lesser athletes than men. Indoor track, women do pents, men do heps; outdoors, women do heps, men do decas. And that’s that. Heck, women didn’t even compete in the Olympics until 1928, and they were only given five events. The first Olympic 1500 meters for women was held in 1972, when Nixon still had two years left in his presidency. The modern heptathlon was introduced in 1984 (silver went to the 22-yearold Jackie Joyner) and the women’s pole vault entered the Olympics in 2000, and was won by Stacy Dragila, with a credible 4.60. In the 80s, a cigarette brand marketing itself to women ran the tagline: “You’ve come a long way, baby.” The current response? Uhhh, not so much.

On Zoom and in her Instagram reels, the Peter Pan-coiffed Jordan smiles a lot, but her message is a serious one, and you can see the steel behind her smile. Homeschooled until college, the native of tiny Ball Ground, Georgia excelled in every sport she tried. The oldest child in an athletic family, she did everything

:

By Ralph Hardy

from softball to taekwondo (she holds a black belt), as well as gymnastics, which might explain her prowess in the pole vault and her willingness to take risks. She plays five instruments, which might explain her propensity for pentathlons. She didn’t try track and field until spring of her senior year. Recovering from a broken bone in her foot after basketball season, she wore a boot while her coach taught her the nuances of shot put and javelin. When the boot came off, her coach found out she could run fast and jump high. A heptathlete was born.

After high school, college beckoned and she was awarded a scholarship to Kennesaw State University, where she competed in the heptathlon. In 2019, she placed 7th at the NCAA Division I heptathlon championships, scoring higher than dozens of athletes from larger, more well-funded programs. It was at Kennesaw where Jordan caught the pole vault bug. She asked her coach, Andy Eggerth, to teach her how to vault, but he refused. He hadn’t yet learned that Jordan never takes “no” for an answer. Eventually, though, she wore him down, and one afternoon, after a brutal practice, he told her to join the male decathletes, who were working on the vault. She was hooked. Then her coach taught her the discus, in case the team needed

points. And lo, the heptathlete became a decathlete. She graduated with an integrated studies major, with a focus on journalism and exercise science, and a minor in coaching. She’s also a photographer and rides motorcycles and scuba dives. Evidently, in Jordan Gray’s universe there are more than 24 hours in a day.

In early 2021, Jordan started a movement. Called “Let Women Decathlon” she has garnered nearly 30,000 signatures on a petition calling for the women’s decathlon to be added to the Olympic games, hopefully by 2024, definitely by 2028. After all, she argues, women are allowed to compete in the Olympics in each decathlon event singly, just not together over two days. What’s the problem?

She’s got momentum. Women’s decathlon is already recognized by an increasing number of athletic governing boards, including USATF and the IAAF. In the U.S., a women’s decathlon championship was first held in 2019 and again in 2021. The winners both years? Jordan Gray. Her record? 8,246. Gray is no slouch in the heptathlon either. After her collegiate success, she placed 11th in the Hep Olympic qualifier in 2020. Now training and coaching at the University of Wisconsin River Falls,

Photo credit: Pole Vault Carolina

Photo provided by Jordan Gray

Jordan is recovering from shoulder surgery last October, followed by frozen shoulder syndrome and then intensive manipulation in February. But with the outdoor season heating up, she’s back at practice, although not at full strength. Of the ten events in her specialty, pole vault is her favorite--when it’s going well. “When it’s not, it’s my least favorite,” she says with a knowing smile. With a PR of 12’10 in the vault, Jordan would like to have other athletes join her.

With every popular movement there is always resistance and skepticism. With the women’s decathlon some note a dearth of qualified coaches, a lack of facilities to train for the additional events, even just the weight of inertia, which is another name for fear. Jordan cautions against the strong pull of nostalgia to maintain the status quo on the women’s hep. She argues that the history and the legacies of the great heptathletes of the last forty years shouldn’t keep the track world from recognizing future opportunities to promote athletic equality. Still, it’s hard to train for even five events in track and field. Now double that. And the field events in the decathlon are highly technical; the strength needed for the shot put doesn’t necessarily translate to the discus or the javelin. The high jump approach is a curved run; a disaster in the pole vault. “Heptathlon is very geared and favorable to those who are quick,” said Gray’s coach, Andy Eggerth, who trains both heptathletes and decathletes. “A lot of world-class heptathletes are relatively bad at javelin and shotput.”

“Heptathletes are sprinters and jumpers,” Gray added. “As a decathlete, where you’re not fast, you need that upper-body strength. Strength is the biggest difference. I hate the 800. You have to be more

of a racehorse to do the 800. I think the 1,500 is easier. It’s slower, more of a mental game. It’s a well-known fact that we decathlon women are better at endurance.”

There’s certainly truth to that. Jackie Joyner Kersey, perhaps the greatest heptathlete ever, used to dread the final 800 meter event. Imagine a 1500 after two days of grueling competition. “But the men do it,” notes Gray.

“When I broke the American record, there were a lot of little girls and high school girls that were like, ‘wow I want to be able to do the decathlon but every time I talk to a college, none of the coaches are willing to coach me in it because there’s nowhere to go’,” said Jordan. “I think a part of the problem is that, especially from the time that we are little girls, we have been told, ‘you’re not allowed to play football, you’ve got to wait till powder puff, and you’re not allowed to play baseball past this age, you have to play softball’.” But things are changing. Girls now wrestle in high school, play high school football, and even play Division I football as kickers, developments inconceivable twenty years ago.

Jordan has even given a Ted Talk on the topic, focusing on the aspect of the decathlon that is universal to both male and female athletes: grit. Indeed, her Instagram handle is Grit Goddess. Drawing on the work of psychologist Angela Duckworth, Jordan expounds on the value of trying difficult things, things that are challenging, frustrating, and, yes, even painful.

According to Duckworth, grit is “passion and perseverance for long-term goals.” Jordan says that, for her, grit stands for being Grateful, Respectful, having Integrity, and being Tenacious. No one wins a hep or a deca

overnight. As Jordan says, “An athlete doesn’t win in their competition, an athlete wins in their training.

Purpose is the fifth component of grit, according to Jordan. For her, that purpose is not mere athletic competition, but a higher calling. A devout Christian, Jordan believes that her athletic success is attributed to and exists for the glory of God. That deep faith has kept her grounded and focused through setbacks, injuries, and the myriad Neanderthals who think women should just be glad they’re allowed on a track. She proselytizes her beliefs on social media and in interviews, yet somehow avoids coming across as sanctimonious.

Her movement has become international in scope. Gabby Pieraccini, who runs the Decathletes of Europe website and is the current doyenne of all things heptathlon and decathlon, thinks the women’s decathlon is inevitable, once the practicalities of scheduling and achieving a critical mass of qualified athletes are overcome. Jordan also thinks there will be a period of a few years during which the hep and the deca are both run simultaneously, with the outdoor hep phasing out over time. Regardless of how long it takes, Jordan is certain that there is a fresh crop of young female athletes just getting started in track and field and waiting for the chance to count to ten.

Photo provided by Jordan Gray

Sydney Horn Higher at High Point

A make-shift pole vault pit located in a vacant lot sparked the beginning of Tim Werner’s journey into the sport. His life-long dedication to pole vault is a culmination of ambition, fearlessness, and tenacity, but it is his revolutionizing invention of the Swing-Up Rack that has sent ripples through the pole vault world. Through coaches, friends, and competitors, Werner transformed from an ambitious, young athlete to a mentor and inventor himself. His Swing-Up Rack has emerged as a coveted pole vaulting tool, a device once inspired by world-class pole vaulters that now shapes them.

The mechanics of the pole vault necessitate a versatile athlete. What makes the event different from others is that it demands movement-specific strength, particularly for a strong invert. Inspired by his life long friend Mike Tully, who masterfully executed an early version of a “Bubka,” Werner discovered that the swing needed to be trained in the absence of power and speed. This led to the creation of a Swing-Up Rack prototype, known by his athletes as the “torture rack.” It was a crude contraption that stabilized an athlete’s shoulders to help build strength during the invert. After witnessing his athletes’ progress, Werner embarked on a mission to develop a refined product that would aid other vaulters too.

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Tim Werner’s Swing-Up Rack

By Maddie Davies

Crafting a pole vault apparatus seemed to come naturally to Werner as he described how “even as a kid, [he loved] figuring out how to make pole vault standards and landing pads out of scrap materials.” He had always been curious and was fascinated by mechanics and all things engineering-related. Werner attributes his math and engineering genes to his mother, who had her master’s in mathematics from Columbia University; and the business side of him to his father, who was vice president of a large supply company. He credits the courage to pursue this entrepreneurial endeavor to the support of those around him.

In need of expertise in biomechanics, Werner sought the guidance of Professors Dr. Toshio Moritani and Dr. Mark Walsh to develop the key to training a strong and powerful swing. In speaking to Dr. Walsh, Werner learned that “energy can be added to the pole vault after the vaulter leaves the ground with muscle strength and sequential motion.” He believed that a SwingUp Rack would revolutionize the way coaches taught the swing-up by “[breaking] down each phase of the swing-up to develop task-specific strength.”

In 2015, Werner constructed a more compact and comfortable version

of his original device that trained more efficient technique, and was awarded two patents for his invention. It didn’t take long for professional athletes to start talking about this game-changer.

The Swing-Up Rack has filled a niche in pole vault training in a way no other drill has done before. It comfortably and effectively trains all sizes of vaulters. It has become Tim’s contribution to the event.

Demand for The Swing-Up Rack has skyrocketed. Werner recalls being contacted by 2 professional athletes who first used the rack in preparation for the World Championships and reveals that one told him, “It helps me build the strength to do what I am trying to do in the vault like nothing else.” Soon after, new national and world records were set, and the Swing-Up Rack became a constant among these athletes’ training regimens.

Inquiries from athletes have come from Germany, Belgium, Italy, Puerto Rico, and Estonia. The Swing-Up Rack gets results and support for it comes from around the world.

Tim’s small idea, plus his courage to act on it, has transformed training for the current generation of the event and rasied the bar for what is achievable.

Photo credit: Pole Vault Carolina

Sydney Horn Higher at High Point :

Photos provided by Pole Vault Carolina

COACH’S CRITIQUE

Vault Carolina athlete Jack Tan

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Approach Approach Approach

Run Run Run

Approach and Pole Carry

Colin has a very nice pole carry, I like the way he keeps his hands high and is very balanced. He also has timed his pole drop very nicely. When the pole starts moving, it doesn’t stop until he’s in the pit, and when he initiates his plant the pole tip is right at eye level. With that being said, the area that Colin can work on is in his run.

Colin has a very nice pole carry. I like the way he keeps his hands high and very balanced. He also has timed his pole drop very nicely. When the pole starts moving, it doesn’t stop until he’s in the pit, and when he initiates his plant the pole tip is right at eye level. With that being said, the area that Colin can work on is his run.

Colin has a very nice pole carry. I like the way he keeps his hands high and is very balanced. He also has timed his pole drop very nicely. When the pole starts moving, it doesn’t stop until he’s in the pit, and when he initiates his plant, the pole tip is right at eye level. With that being said, the area that Colin can work on is his run. The rhythm starts off much too fast and actually slows a little at the end. Regardless of the length of run, you want to see a slow, reladxed rhythm in the beginnning and a very fast rhythm at the end. It’s very hard to start out really quick, and get even quicker. Also, he needs to work on getting his knees up and running taller from the hips down. Along with all of the normal sprinting drills that everyone does, I think he would really benefit from running over mini hurdles or cones. They should be about 6 or 9 inches tall for him, and spaced out enough in the beginning to force him to stretch out his strides, and close enough together towards the end to help increase the rhythm.

Jack’s pole carry and drop mechanics are very good. He gradually drops the pole, and keeps his right hand near his right hip. His torso is driving forward and not leaning back. Jack has great speed throughout the run. Running mechanics will help him continue to develop as his center of gravity lowers the closer he gets to the takeoff position.

The rhythm starts off much too fast and actually slows a little at the end. Regardless of the length of the run, you want to see a slow relaxed rhythm in the beginning and a very fast rhythm at the end. It’s very hard to start out really quick, and get even quicker. Also, he needs to work on getting his knees up and running taller from the hips down. Along with all of the normal sprinting drills that everyone does, I think he would really benefit from running over mini hurdles or cones. should be about 6 to 9 inches tall for him, and spaced out enough in the beginning to force him to stretch out his strides and close enough together towards the end to help increase the rhythm.

The rhythm starts off much too fast and actually slows a little at the end. Regardless of the length of run, you want to see a slow relaxed rhythm in the beginning and a very fast rhythm at the end. It’s very hard to start out really quick, and get even quicker. Also, he needs to work on getting his knees up and running taller from the hips down. Along with all of the normal sprinting drills that everyone does, I think he would really benefit from running over mini hurdles or cones. They should be about 6 to 9 inches tall for him, and spaced out enough in the beginning to force him to stretch out his strides and close enough together towards the end to help increase the rhythm.

Jose R. San Miguel breaks down technique in this analysis of a vault by Pole

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TAKEOFF TAKEOFF TAKEOFF

Jack initiates the plant nice and early and moves his hands close to his body. The top arm is not fully extended at the time the left foot hits the ground. In this particular jump, Jack’s last stride is long, putting him in a leaning back position. He is too far under. An inside step will prevent a powerful takeoff position. Jack pushes the pole through takeoff and keeps his left leg straight and engaged even with the step inside. I recomend that Jack maintain a tall drive position and not rush the takeoff to initiate the swing.

COACH’S CRITIQUE

SWING SWING

SWING

Jack executes his swing mechanics well and is able to swing through the pole. He keeps his left leg engaged through most of the drive and swing, which allows him to remain close to the pole. Jack’s left arm remains unbent as he completes the extension thus causing his body to get away from the top of the pole and go into the bar.

Commentary

Jack Tan is a freshman at Wakefield High School In Raleigh. He has a PR of 13’7, a 19” improvement this season. He has been jumping for one year.

Although there are many areas for Jack to improve, I would first like to recognize the things he does right including being coachable, dedicated, and a student of the event. Jack is committed to his improvement and has made significant strides to improve the areas identified here.

By focusing on improving the running mechanics and keeping the center of gravity higher during the run, Jack will be more consistent in having his step at the right takeoff position, which will have a huge impact in the plant, drive, and swing. I believe that fixing the run will also correct the top arm at takeoff, his drive, and allow him to remain close to the top of the pole longer.

Now that the high school season is over, I would recommend the following:

1. Work on your approach using step hurdles.

2. Practice long jump takeoff drills to drive off the ground while being fully extended at takeoff. 3. Translate the new run mechanics and takeoff position to the runway using short approach jumps on smaller poles.

Focus on fixing, not rushing through the drills to get back to full appoach.

Jack, congratulations on ALL that you have accomplished. Keep up the hard work during the summer track season. It is a great opportunity to improve technically and increase your height. You have the foundation for great success. I can’t wait to see what you will accomplish in your pole vaulting career.

Jose R. San Miguel Pole Vault Carolina

Hector Cotto

2008 and 2012 Olympian

IF I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW...

My greatest lesson has been that hard work pays off, and by hard work I mean impossible work.

If you are willing to go through the impossible, you will succeed. For many seasons, I tried doing less. It never worked, not even one time, ever. The seasons in which I did not die on the track, I did not win races. The seasons in which I did die on the track, I outperformed even what I thought was possible.

The seasons in which you win, you go through hell. Everything is going right, and then all of a sudden everything is terrible. Disaster, tragedy, end of the world scenarios. It does not matter if you’ve had 1,000 perfect days of practice in a row, when your world falls apart, if you quit, then you’ve lost. But if you persevere, magic happens. Avoid the impossible work and you will settle for 3rd and 4th place or not even making the finals. If you embrace it, you become a champion. It’s why Michael Jordan is the G.O.A.T., it’s why LeBron James and Tom Brady are so great. It’s not because of talent - we all have that - it’s because they persevered, and gave it 1000%, when so many of us didn’t.

Writing plans to set personal records is easy, but getting through the ups & downs is what makes or breaks you. Did you die on the track 5 out of 5 days of the week of training? Or was it only one time that week -the hard

day? Once a week means you will never be champion, and that is real life.

Did you go out and have a few beers on Friday night? Saturday too? Awesome. You will never be champion.

Did you quit because you couldn’t find a coach? Or a track? You will never be champion.

There is always an excuse for the one who is not committed. They don’t have it in them to fail. It is too embarrassing so they never even try. Your success comes down to the choices you make. Hard work pays off, but really, it’s the impossible work that yields results. The circumstances that you do not believe you can endure? Make it through and you win.

My few wins in life have been thanks to sacrifice and persistence. If I had it in me to sacrifice more often, and stay strong through the challenges, I may have been Olympic champion or world record holder. It’s not the talent that holds us back, it’s the work. All that you think it will take, will only get you halfway there. If you choose to give it your all and stay focused through the difficulties, then you’ll win.

This is what I’ve learned about life thanks to track & field and those hurdles.

Hector Cotto is a 2-time Olympian from Puerto Rico. He competed in the 110m hurdles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and at the London Olympics in 2012. He also competed at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in 2007, 2009, and 2011.

Photo provided by Hector Cotto

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