Jeremy Scott: the world's tallest pole vaulter
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:29 pm
http://www.spikesmag.com/features/jerem ... ulter.aspx
Jeremy Scott: the world's tallest pole vaulter
Jeremy Scott at 6’9" is the world’s tallest pole vaulter. spikesmag.com invested in a stepladder to chat to the Arkansas-based US international who is coached by former Olympic medallist Earl Bell.
How did you get into athletics?
JS: At High School my sister was a pretty good hurdler and state champion for Nebraska. She was seven years older than me so watching her as a little kid have a bunch of success was something I wanted to pursue. I ended up doing hurdles and winning a state championship. I had three people who ended up being all state in the class – the coach said I might not have much future as a hurdler but maybe as a pole vaulter. So I went and tried it aged 16 one day, had fun, and found it was a thing I enjoyed doing.
When you first tried the pole vault was it an instant attraction?
JS: I was playing [American] football on the team [at Allegheny college in Pennsylvania] until one of the guys said you don’t have do morning work outs at 6am if you do a summer sport. I still wanted to play football but ended making the All American in my freshman year pole vaulting. I broke my foot pretty early on the football season and from then on it was hard to make the cuts. So that next year I decided to go with the pole vault. Football was my first love but pole vault is what I have the most fun with. It is the ultimate event. You get to take the speed of the sprints, the athleticism of gymnastics and the strength of the throws. Plus you get to jump 19 feet in the air every day and get to land on a big piece of foam rubber. It is very exhilarating.
Are you from a family of tall people?
JS: My dad is 6’1" and he is the runt of the family. My uncles on that side are all 6’4" 6’5" and then my sisters are all 5’10" and 5’11"... so a pretty tall family.
Are you the tallest pole vaulter on the circuit?
JS: My college coach did a little research on it. Viktor Chistiakov [the 1994 World Junior champion] was tall [6’6"] but not quite as tall as me. As far as I know I’m the only one [of my height] that’s ever reached an A standard of 5.80m.
What are the main advantages with being so tall?
JS: The advantages come with the physics of the event. The poles are basically starting a lot closer to vertical than pretty much anyone else and the fact you can hold on higher with bigger stiffer poles can send you higher in the air. Your window for error, I guess, becomes a lot bigger.
What are the main disadvantages?
JS: There’s a lot of times I wish I was a smaller guy. Most of it comes from when I’m transporting the poles around. Most people have 5m or 5.10m poles, whereas I have 5.30m poles, so getting them in and out of places can be a little bit more difficult. When you get back to the technique side [the main disadvantage] is the gymnastic side of it. There’s a reason why you don’t see a lot of really tall gymnasts – it is hard to get the upside down motion and keep everything balanced.
Is the gymnastics something you’ve had to work really hard on?
JS: Every single day we’ll do something to strengthen the core to try and keep me strong from the shoulders to the hips. Every pole valuter works on speed and every pole vaulter works on strength and every pole vaulter works on core but for me I would say a greater percentage of my attention goes on the core.
Mastered it yet?
JS: Well, the difficulty is my best is 5.80m and I should be jumping that every day but it hasn’t become that yet, so that’s what we are trying to figure out.
Just explain some of the difficulty of transporting your poles?
JS: I remember last May trying to go from Stuttgart to Rome. The lift for oversize baggage is only five metres long, so I went and checked in and I’m walking down the hallway and I see three or four guys trying to cram the thing [a bag with seven poles in it] at an angle. I’m thinking, "oh man, please don’t break anything". They eventually get it in there and you see the elevator door hitting the poles and coming back out. In the end they got a little bend and the door closed and although you heard a little wobble they made it.
What has been your career highlight?
JS: When I was a senior at college I made the 2003 Birmingham World Indoor Championships.
What are your aims this season?
JS: The aim is always to jump higher. I think it is on the cards to jump 5.85m or 5.90m this year from what I’ve seen in training and then to make the World Championships in Berlin.
Jeremy Scott: the world's tallest pole vaulter
Jeremy Scott at 6’9" is the world’s tallest pole vaulter. spikesmag.com invested in a stepladder to chat to the Arkansas-based US international who is coached by former Olympic medallist Earl Bell.
How did you get into athletics?
JS: At High School my sister was a pretty good hurdler and state champion for Nebraska. She was seven years older than me so watching her as a little kid have a bunch of success was something I wanted to pursue. I ended up doing hurdles and winning a state championship. I had three people who ended up being all state in the class – the coach said I might not have much future as a hurdler but maybe as a pole vaulter. So I went and tried it aged 16 one day, had fun, and found it was a thing I enjoyed doing.
When you first tried the pole vault was it an instant attraction?
JS: I was playing [American] football on the team [at Allegheny college in Pennsylvania] until one of the guys said you don’t have do morning work outs at 6am if you do a summer sport. I still wanted to play football but ended making the All American in my freshman year pole vaulting. I broke my foot pretty early on the football season and from then on it was hard to make the cuts. So that next year I decided to go with the pole vault. Football was my first love but pole vault is what I have the most fun with. It is the ultimate event. You get to take the speed of the sprints, the athleticism of gymnastics and the strength of the throws. Plus you get to jump 19 feet in the air every day and get to land on a big piece of foam rubber. It is very exhilarating.
Are you from a family of tall people?
JS: My dad is 6’1" and he is the runt of the family. My uncles on that side are all 6’4" 6’5" and then my sisters are all 5’10" and 5’11"... so a pretty tall family.
Are you the tallest pole vaulter on the circuit?
JS: My college coach did a little research on it. Viktor Chistiakov [the 1994 World Junior champion] was tall [6’6"] but not quite as tall as me. As far as I know I’m the only one [of my height] that’s ever reached an A standard of 5.80m.
What are the main advantages with being so tall?
JS: The advantages come with the physics of the event. The poles are basically starting a lot closer to vertical than pretty much anyone else and the fact you can hold on higher with bigger stiffer poles can send you higher in the air. Your window for error, I guess, becomes a lot bigger.
What are the main disadvantages?
JS: There’s a lot of times I wish I was a smaller guy. Most of it comes from when I’m transporting the poles around. Most people have 5m or 5.10m poles, whereas I have 5.30m poles, so getting them in and out of places can be a little bit more difficult. When you get back to the technique side [the main disadvantage] is the gymnastic side of it. There’s a reason why you don’t see a lot of really tall gymnasts – it is hard to get the upside down motion and keep everything balanced.
Is the gymnastics something you’ve had to work really hard on?
JS: Every single day we’ll do something to strengthen the core to try and keep me strong from the shoulders to the hips. Every pole valuter works on speed and every pole vaulter works on strength and every pole vaulter works on core but for me I would say a greater percentage of my attention goes on the core.
Mastered it yet?
JS: Well, the difficulty is my best is 5.80m and I should be jumping that every day but it hasn’t become that yet, so that’s what we are trying to figure out.
Just explain some of the difficulty of transporting your poles?
JS: I remember last May trying to go from Stuttgart to Rome. The lift for oversize baggage is only five metres long, so I went and checked in and I’m walking down the hallway and I see three or four guys trying to cram the thing [a bag with seven poles in it] at an angle. I’m thinking, "oh man, please don’t break anything". They eventually get it in there and you see the elevator door hitting the poles and coming back out. In the end they got a little bend and the door closed and although you heard a little wobble they made it.
What has been your career highlight?
JS: When I was a senior at college I made the 2003 Birmingham World Indoor Championships.
What are your aims this season?
JS: The aim is always to jump higher. I think it is on the cards to jump 5.85m or 5.90m this year from what I’ve seen in training and then to make the World Championships in Berlin.
