Erica Bartolina: the one-eyed pole vaulter

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.spikesmag.com/features/erica ... ulter.aspx

Erica Bartolina: the one-eyed pole vaulter
US pole vaulter Erica Bartolina cleared a personal best of 4.55m to finish third at the 2008 US Championships. She spoke to spikesmag.com about how she has overcome the loss of an eye to be one of her country’s top vaulters.

How did you lose the sight in your eye?
I lost my eye when I was four months old in a car accident. There were scissors on the dashboard of the pick up... it was pretty traumatic. So the message is: don’t put scissors on the dash [laughs]. My family have always been really good about making it as normal as possible. They didn’t keep me from doing anything or overly protect me. I couldn’t throw or catch very well, but why practise something you are not going to be very good at anyway? I was raised on a farm and I really didn’t have any athletic background to speak of before high school.

How did you get into the pole vault?
I started in high school. I was more of a distance runner but I decided to do some pole vaulting and after that running just didn’t seem that exciting. I was a little adventurous. I like to take some risks and do things that other people don’t tend to do. I was pretty strong and pretty fast and that’s what you need if you are going to clear nine feet to begin with. I just learnt from there.

What are the main difficulties you have to overcome as a one-eyed pole vaulter?
With my natural upper body strength I was told I would be great for the pole vault and then people will say, ‘oh no, wait, you’ve only got one eye.’ At that point I was already excited about doing the event and then I had to fight for it. Without having ever done it I said: ‘there’s no reason why I can’t do it'. I think I probably had a different learning curve than most people.

I used to run with the pole over my head for the first three steps but I don’t think in reality there was that much of a difference between how I learned it and how other people learned it. It was a lot easier for me to pole vault than to catch something coming at me. The [plant] box stays in the same place, so it’s easier for me than something flying at me that I have to judge. I have to be a little more consistent because some people can tell the distance [to the plant box] a lot more and adjust their steps on the runway.

Is anything about your vision impairment that, maybe, even works in your favour?
The focus of my childhood was that I didn’t need to be protected from anything. That attitude helped me think I should do whatever, but as far as physically, I don’t really think there is a benefit. The mental aspect of being able to do whatever you set your mind to has been important. That is what I’ve learned from a young age: there are times when you just doubt yourself and having that foundation is important [in helping to] overcome that.

Do you ever think about what you could jump with if you had two eyes?
At first I did and I sometimes think, 'what would it be like if I was sat here with two eyes? Would things be that much different? Would it be easier as I move at top speed on the runway to pole vault with two eyes?' But I feel like I have adjusted so well and nothing else in my life is that much harder, so why would pole vaulting be any easier? It is not something I dwell on but, yes, there is always a thought.

What has been your career highlight?
The Olympic Trials was definitely a highlight for me. I improved my best by 15cms in the meet. I changed a lot of technical things last year and I’d had meets which were mediocre and then the trials came and things just fell into place. And it was in Oregon, so my whole family was there, so that was a great experience.

What are your main goals for 2009?
I’d like to make the US World Championship team and we’ll have our trials for that at the end of June, so that is pretty much my main focus. And if I make the World Championships I’d love to place in the top eight.