Derek Miles South Dakota Celebrity of the Year

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.yankton.net/articles/2008/12 ... 399314.txt

Miles Selected As State’s Celebrity Of The Year


Derek Miles takes off during the “Derek Miles and Friends” pole vault competition this past January. Miles earned his second straight berth in the Olympics, finishing fourth, and has been recognized by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association as their “Celebrity of the Year.” (P&D File Photo)

By Justin Rust
sports@yankton.net
Published: Friday, December 26, 2008 1:17 AM CST
This year, the South Dakota Sports Celebrity is from a sport which doesn’t get a lot of publicity. It’s not a sport people will wake up in the morning and read the morning paper to see how the athletes in the sport did.

Except for this summer, when for about a two-week span, South Dakota was transfixed on how pole vaulter Derek Miles was doing in Beijing during the Summer Olympics.

Miles, a former University of South Dakota pole vaulter and current coach for the USD track and field team, is this year’s South Dakota Sportswriter’s Celebrity of the Year after finishing fourth in the Olympics in the pole vault.

The best thing about receiving this award is the knowing the support he is getting Miles said.

“Whenever you can have the support of the community, it gives you confidence because you know people are behind what you do,” Miles said. “It pushes you out of bed to go and work hard each and everyday, especially on the days you don’t want to get out of bed and work on vaulting.”

USD women’s track and field coach Lucky Huber is a longtime friend and coach for Miles. He went to Beijing during the Olympics to help coach Miles.

Winning this award is a great accomplishment Huber said.

“There are a lot of great athletes who have ties to South Dakota,” Huber said. “The success Derek had got sports writers to think about track and field, which is a great feat.”

Miles isn’t originally from South Dakota, he is from California and didn’t venture here until he went to school at USD. He has now spent more time in South Dakota than he did in California.

“I love being associated with South Dakota and my wife and I plan on being here for a long time,” Miles said. “I have been all over the place, and I have yet to find better people than in South Dakota.”

Being named the South Dakota Sports Celebrity of the Year isn’t the only honor Miles has come away with lately. A couple weeks ago, Miles was named recipient of the Jim Thorpe Award.

The Jim Thorpe award is given out annually to an outstanding male athlete in the field events and decathlon category.

Miles said he is still processing winning the award.

“It’s an amazing honor, but I feel I have a lot of work to do it earn it,” Miles said. “I am going to work hard to win a World Championship medal to show I deserve the award.”

Other winners of the award include Bryan Clay, who won the Olympic gold medal in the decathlon this past summer, ’96 decathlon gold medalist Dan O’Brien and nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, to name a few.

“It’s a prestigious list and an honor to see the list of people who have won the award,” Miles said. “I feel like a bottle of beer among a bunch of champagne bottles.”

Huber said winning the Jim Thorpe award is a testament to how hard Miles works.

“To be put among this list of athletes, it’s just an example of how he has worked for it and the success he has had,” Huber said. “He has been a great role model for the athletes that have been interested in track and field.”

Miles is now in his second season as an assistant coach at USD. Last year, he didn’t get to spend as much time as he wanted to with the program because he was focused on competing and getting ready for the Olympics. This year, Miles is taking on more of a role with the team.

Miles enjoys helping out the athletes at USD.

“Helping the kids get better has become more of a priority to me now,” Miles said. “Hopefully over the next couple of years, I can have more of a significant position as I start to phase out competing.”

Having Miles help out with USD’s track and field program is huge Huber said.

“I think our kids have really enjoyed having him around and they have learned a lot of different things,” Huber said. “We are very fortunate to have him here.”

Miles will still train and compete for the upcoming World Championships in Berlin, Germany this upcoming summer. To quality for the World Championships, Miles has to make the US team. In order to make the US team, he has to place in the top three during the US Championships in June.

What he accomplished this past summer was a big confidence boost for this year, Miles said.

“Last summer gave me a lot of confidence and I am looking to win the World Championships, because a medal is the one thing that’s missing for me,” Miles said.

Miles said he is working on the technical aspect of his game right now.

“I have actually found some technical things that are making a big difference,” Miles said. “I am working on the technical aspect, so when it comes to June, I know what to do and what not to do.”

Before this past summer, Miles also made the Olympic team in 2004 and finished seventh. Now Miles is 35 years old and just focusing on competing this year and won’t commit to trying to make the 2012 Olympic team.

“I now view it from year to year, and if I continue to be competitive with the rest of the world, than it’s a sign I can keep going,” Miles said. “When I do call it quits, I want to go off on my own terms, because I don’t want remember the sport for the times I was no longer competitive.”

Huber said there is always the possibility of Miles competing in the 2012 Olympics, but Miles will always focus on what’s important to him.

“If we can keep improving and stay at this level, than there’s a chance,” Huber said. “But Derek knows there’s things in life that’s more important than track and field. There’s a day when everyone has to put their spikes away.”