PoleVaultPower.com

The resources aren't there yet. It is my job, and the job of USATF's National Office, to go out and find the financial and other resources necessary to bring this organization to the level at which it needs to be. Obviously, in the current financial climate, sponsor money isn't falling from the sky in gift-wrapped packages. We must be creative and aggressive, and most important, we must not undervalue our sport. Track and field offers immense financial value that has not yet been tapped in any way. Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva has just signed a five-year deal with a sportswear company that will pay her a reported $7.5 million over five years. Her contract should not be an aberration, it should set a new standard. We as a federation can learn from Ms. Isinbayeva: know what your value is, and go find somebody who will pay it.