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Flo Meiler conquers milestone 2-meter barrier in vault at 75
By Ken Stone on August 16, 2009 1:13 AM | No Comments
Flo Meiler in Oshkosh
During a record attempt last month at Oshkosh nationals, Flo Meiler of Vermont fell and banged her head on the pole vault box. The gash required six staples. She recovered quickly, though, and took home a dozen medals. But would the record later prove a mental barrier? Heck no. On August 5, competing at the National Senior Games in Palo Alto, California, Flo, 75, became the oldest woman over 2 meters -- clearing 2.01 (6-7) to break the listed W75 world record of 1.90 (6-2 3/4) by Leonore McDaniels at the 2003 Eugene nationals. I learned of Flo's mark from a letter she sent my wife, who had sent her a photo CD. "Just got back from Senior Games," Flo wrote by hand on lined paper. "Broke pole vault record. Got 3 gold, 3 silvers and 3 bronze." On the Age-Graded Tables, Flo's 2.01 corresponds to an Open (ages 20-30) equivalent of 5.44 (17-10 1/4). Incredible. In 2007, she set a W70 indoor WR of 2.11 (6-11)

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/arti ... ecord-book

Meiler, 75, soars into record book
Shelburne vaulter sets mark at Senior Games
BY JOHN A. FANTINO, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • AUGUST 16, 2009

Flo Meiler celebrated her 75th birthday in June and a world record last week.

It’s been a productive summer for the Shelburne resident and star senior athlete, who cleared 6 feet, 7 inches in the pole vault at the Summer National Senior Games. The feat earned her a gold medal and a world record in the 75 to 79 age bracket, highlighting a stellar stint in the event at Stanford University in California.

“I’m on cloud nine,” said Meiler. “It was the third time I had been trying to break that record and I finally got it.”

Meiler kept busy during the two-week competition, shuffling between 11 events. She also grabbed gold in the high jump and was on the winning 4-by-100-meter relay team. She reeled in silver in the discus, long jump and triple jump; and took bronze in the 100, 200 and hammer throw.

Meiler’s training partner, Barbara Jordan, also hauled in a lot of hardware in her age group. The 70-year-old from South Burlington swiped gold in the 100, 200, triple jump and 4-by-100 relay. Jordan also claimed silver in the high jump and bronze in the long jump.

Fran Moravosik, a 75-year-old from South Burlington, won bronze in the shot put.

Meiler credits her success to local coaches Bill Nedde and Curt Fischer — not to mention an intensive regimen that included six training days a week the last six months.

“I was also doing weights and playing tennis,” said Meiler, who also fared well at the USA Nationals this year. “There’s quite a bit of competition at these events; you really have to work your fanny off.”

Meiler plans to take a bit of a breather from her non-stop competition schedule this summer, but not from an active lifestyle.

“I’m going to get back to playing a lot more tennis,” Meiler said, “and get back to ballroom dancing with my husband, something I haven’t had much time to do lately.”

Congrats to Flo!

Flo is unreal. I jumped with her about 4 years ago at Kurt Fischer's place in Charlotte, VT ( Charlotte Vaulters ). I would kill to have her family genes. The women is ripped and in condition I never thought was possible at that age. Her speed and spring at take-off is baffling for her age. I remember Kurt telling Flo, after she was done a jump session, to do a couple of bubkas on his high bar. I thought, "No way could she do those even if she was fresh." She powered through 3 swinging bubkas almost perfectly. Ridiculous! She apparently didn't start doing Track & Field until she was around 60 years old. "Natural Talent" is an understatement for this woman.