Stevenson earns his victory run (article)

[rainbowgirl28]

I would like to say again how awesome Toby and Brad looked over 5.70. It is a shame the wind was swirling so much. If it had stayed a straight tailwind, they both would have cleared 5.90+. Toby looked the best I have seen him since 2004, and Brad looked like he has 6 meters and then some in him.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/ ... ion=sports

Stevenson earns his victory run
By Chris Hansen
The Register-Guard
Published: Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Before meeting with a small group of reporters, pole vaulter Toby Stevenson spotted his old college coach standing nearby and felt compelled to introduce him.
"Everything I know I learned from Vin Lananna," said Stevenson, pointing to the current director of track and field for Oregon who was the head coach at Stanford during Stevenson's college days.
"He taught me how to go around the track," Stevenson said. "One time."
That was all he needed to run Tuesday, as Stevenson earned the victory lap with his win in the pole vault at the Road to Eugene '08 track meet at Hayward Field.
Competing against an elite field of pole vaulters, Stevenson, Brad Walker and Russ Buller all cleared 18 feet, 8 inches, then passed at 19-0 to put the bar at 19-4. They all failed in three attempts to get over that height, leaving Stevenson the winner because of fewer overall misses in the competition.
"Obviously it was a great field of pole vaulters, and 18-8 is a good jump, but it's not a great jump," said Stevenson, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist. "But that being said, I'm super stoked today. This was a great day, I felt good. My rhythm has been off all year, so I got it back today and hopefully this will be kind of a steppingstone to the future to come."
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Walker, the 2006 world leader, finished in second and Buller, the 2006 U.S. Champion, took third. Jeff Hartwig, the U.S. record-holder, finished fourth at 18-2, while 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong failed to clear a height.
"It was a good meet today," Walker said. "We just had a little bit of a struggle with the wind, a little bit of inconsistencies, which always play games with us. But all in all I think we're pretty happy with the way it went."
It was the second time this summer that Stevenson and Walker have faced off at Hayward Field. At the Prefontaine Classic in late May, Stevenson also beat Walker after both had cleared 18- 1/2 .
"I love jumping, I love pole vaulting, we all do," Stevenson said. "We wouldn't have shown up here at this meet if we didn't love pole vaulting. We were having a great time. The whole time we were laughing, cracking jokes, telling each other we were terrible, really just talking trash but in a great, friendly way. We're awesome competitors and great friends."
Walker agreed.
"Everybody just wants people to jump high, bring the sport up and nothing helps the sport better than just people jumping high," Walker said. "We all understand that and we're all willing to help each other out to do it."
Kellie Suttle, in what was her last appearance at Hayward Field, went out a winner as she cleared 14-5 to win the women's pole vault.
The 33-year-old two-time Olympian is retiring at the end of the season.
"I just feel like it's a good time," Suttle said. "It's the halfway mark between now and the Olympic Trials and it's just harder for me to stay healthy and train like I need to train. I want to be 40 and be able to play with my kids and have fun. If I felt like I could stay healthy the next two years, I would try, but it's too much of a gamble."
Oregon school record-holder Becky Holliday took second with a height of 14-1, while former Oregon vaulter Niki McEwen also cleared 14-1.
Like Stevenson, long jumper Miguel Pate picked up his second win of the year at Hayward, as the Pre Classic champion recorded a mark of 26-10 1/2 to win the long jump.
"It's always good to get a win, first of all, but I wanted to come in and work on some things," said Pate, who was ranked No. 2 in the world in 2005. "My season has been kind of up and down, so I wanted to work on my approach to get it to where it's consistent. So to come out and jump 26-10 1/2 , it's not as far as I wanted to jump, but I'll take it because it's getting me back on track for my season back in Europe."
The women's long jump was won by Akiba McKinney with a mark of 21-8, while 2005 world champion Tianna Madison was second at 21-4.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/20 ... 080906.txt

Olympian wins Road to Eugene pole vault


Wednesday, August 9, 2006 2:21 PM PDT

EUGENE (AP) - A win is a win. But Toby Stevenson wasn't overly pleased with his performance.

The 2000 Olympic gold medalist cleared 18 feet, 8 inches Tuesday to win the pole vault competition in the inaugural Road to Eugene track and field meet at Hayward Field.

The meet was highlighted by the men's pole vault, which included two former Olympic champions in its impressive field. Current world leader Brad Walker finished second and reigning national champion Russ Buller was third. They cleared the same height as Stevenson, but needed more tries.

The field also featured 2004 Olympic champion and American record holder Jeff Hartwig and 2004 silver medalist Tim Mack.

“Obviously it was a great field of pole vaulters, and 18-8 is a good jump, but it's not a great jump,â€Â

[rainbowgirl28]

http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... /608090340

Vaulters steal the show
'04 silver medalist Stevenson wins event by clearing 18-8 1/4

GARY HOROWITZ
Statesman Journal
August 9, 2006

EUGENE -- It was a field worthy of competing for an Olympic gold medal.

Many of the premier United States pole vaulters were on hand Tuesday at the Road to Eugene '08, an event that gave fans at Hayward Field an early glimpse of how the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials could shape up in two years.

The pole vault highlighted a 20-event meet before a crowd of 5,962 at Hayward Field, site of the 2008 Olympic Trials.

"Obviously a great field of pole vaulters," said Toby Stevenson, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, who won the event by clearing 18-8 1/4 on his first attempt.

Runner-up Brad Walker had one miss at 18-8 1/4, and third-place finisher Russ Buller missed twice before making the height.

Walker, who is tied with Stevenson for the third best effort all-time in the U.S. (19-8 1/4), is the 2006 World Indoor champion.

The field also included American record holder Jeff Hartwig, who has a personal best of 19-9 1/4, 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack, and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong.

"I love jumping. I love pole vaulting; we all do," said Stevenson, who missed three times at 19-4. "We wouldn't have shown up to this meet if we didn't love pole vaulting, specifically here in Oregon.

"We have a great time. We're laughing, cracking jokes, telling each other we're terrible, really talking trash in a great, friendly way. We're awesome competitors but great friends."

Walker said there is a camaraderie among the fraternity of pole vaulters.

"Everybody just wants people to jump high," Walker said. "Bring the sport up. Nothing helps the sport better than just people jumping high."

Oregon senior Tommy Skipper, the two-time NCAA outdoor champion, suffered a minor injury during a recent workout and did not compete Tuesday.

[rainbowgirl28]

Oregon senior Tommy Skipper, the two-time NCAA outdoor champion, suffered a minor injury during a recent workout and did not compete Tuesday.

Because missing the pit from 19'+ and narrowly avoiding death only counts as a minor injury