Tye Harvey Article

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http://www.modbee.com/columnists/agosti ... 5984c.html

Harvey hangin' in

By RON AGOSTINI
BEE SPORTS COLUMNIST
Last Updated: July 10, 2004, 06:00:04 AM PDT

SACRAMENTO -- Tye Harvey threw both fists high into the air, and he cranked his right arm in a double-windmill circle worthy of any old-school rocker.

He was down safely, the bar was still up, and all things in Tye Harvey's world were just fine.

"I've got a lot of fans in the bleachers. I've got to let them know I'm excited," he said. "That's real normal for me. I show my emotions. I wear it on my cuff."

Harvey, the Sonora High graduate nearing his 30th birthday, had every right to be overjoyed. He easily cleared 18 feet, ½-inch, on his second try, punching his ticket into the pole vault finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track and Field.

Twenty-four vaulters carried years of dreams into Friday's preliminaries. Harvey was one of the 12 still alive for Sunday's finals and a potential trip to Athens, Greece, for the Olympics.

That's the nub of it, but it doesn't nearly explain Harvey's euphoria. What he accomplished Saturday had nothing to do with the modest height he cleared or the fact he survived while a superstar like Jeff Hartwig crashed and burned for the second straight time at the Trials. For now, Harvey only has equaled what he did four years ago, when he eventually placed sixth.

No, Harvey celebrated because he beat back personal demons. Not only did he leap into the finals, he also leapfrogged three years of injury-induced disappointment.

Early in 2001, Harvey was a man on the rise. He placed second at the U.S. Indoors with a personal-best of 19-4¼, thus justifying his potential a decade before as the top-ranked high-school pole vaulter in the country (1993). As they say now, he showed great upside.

Then came rough times -- a leg injury late in 2001, two torn hamstrings in 2002 and a torn labrum in his right shoulder last year. He shut down after he no-heighted at the 2003 Coca-Cola Modesto Relays. His career was in jeopardy.

At about that time, Harvey -- a resident of Austin, Texas -- met therapist-trainer Willem Kramer of San Antonio. Kramer supervised a rehab program that Harvey referred to as "reformatting my body."

Though Earl Bell was retained as Harvey's longtime coach, Kramer addressed Harvey's mangled physique.

"Without his help," Harvey said, "there's no chance I'd be here right now."

Harvey saw results just in time. Consistent through most of the spring, he improved his outdoor personal record to 19-0¾ two weeks ago. Though experts picked him to finish only eighth, they didn't take into account his sudden return to form. Harvey called it "peaking on the right day."

Clearly, Harvey was prepared. He was ready for the swirling winds at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex that turned pole vaulting into a guessing game.

Harvey passed on the first height, 17-8½, missed on his first try at 18-0½, then sent family and friends -- and himself -- into a frenzy. He crept over the bar without laying a fingernail on it.

"Kooky" was the word Harvey used to describe the wind, but he successfully dealt with it. So did Toby Stevenson -- remember his near American record two months ago at the Relays? But Hartwig, the American record holder, again failed. He's 0-for-6 in Sac-Town, because he let the wind defeat him.

"I'm absolutely in shock," he said. Hartwig, 36, said this was his last shot at the Olympics.

Harvey, like Hartwig, also has taken his career inventory: He turns 30 in September and his window to the Games remains open for at least one more campaign if his body approves. There is also his November wedding to two-time Olympic high jumper Amy Acuff.

That said, there's no such thing as long-term planning for athletes at this event. All that matters is the short-term -- the next jump, the next race, the next throw or the next vault. All Harvey sought Friday was to extend his career two more days. And so he did.

"When I look into the stands and I see an entire section filled with Oakdale people, Sonora people and Hawaii people (his mom now lives in Hawaii), it kind of brings tears to my eyes," he said. "It's another reason why we do this, for our loved ones."

What are his chances, you ask? Few think he can place in the top three, which qualifies him for Athens. Regardless, Harvey likes his longshot status. The wind is kooky, Hartwig is gone, and, heck, Harvey already passed his latest random drug test.

An official walked him into a nearby office minutes after Friday's performance. Harvey is clean, encouraged and ready. What more can be done on prelim day?

"Everybody out there was shaking in their boots, I guarantee you," he said. "If I make the team, all the training I've done the past 15 years has paid off. If not, I still had fun, it was a great journey. I don't know. I take it day to day."