Derek Miles Article

[Bruce Caldwell]

http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/st ... 3371c.html

Men's pole vault final: Olympic berth caps Miles' homecoming

By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, July 12, 2004
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When Derek Miles graduated from Bella Vista High School, he was 5-foot-9 and 135 pounds.
In the four years prior, even when he would steam down the runway with a pole and vault himself into the Fair Oaks sky, Miles wasn't much bigger.

He never made the state meet in the pole vault, never even jumped higher than 14 feet, 6 inches.

In 2000, after Miles, then 27, grew to 6-3 and 195 pounds and worked his way into the Olympic Trials at Sacramento State, he was the odd man out in the hometown heartbreak, losing a jump-off to Chad Harting for the final spot for Sydney.




Miles had reached many new heights. Sunday afternoon, he went even higher.
In front of a Hornet Stadium crowd of 22,107, including Miles' clan, the 31-year-old made his first Olympic team just in time to avoid a midlife crisis, finishing third behind Tim Mack (19-4¼) and Toby Stevenson (19-2¼).

Miles and his training partner, Sonora's Tye Harvey, cleared 19-¼, but Miles had only three failed attempts to Harvey's eight, securing his spot for Athens after Sydney wasn't meant to be.

"I'm no spring chicken," said Miles, who didn't hit the 18-foot mark until two years after he earned his master's degree from South Dakota. "Being able to hang out and relax at home with Mom and Dad, in the same room that I grew up in and (then qualify), it's hard to explain, but it's really exciting."

Mack was a surprise winner, taking the lead late after Stevenson had breezed through early to earn his first Olympic trip. Nick Hysong, the Olympic gold medalist in 2000, made the finals but finished fifth, clearing 18-10¼ before failing in three attempts at 19-2¼.

"The helmeted one," as Stevenson has become known for his protective gear, had just one miss in his first five heights. And for each make, Stevenson had a dance - a robot dance, cowboy-riding-the-horse groove, one-legged spinning move and a few more.

"I just planned out what celebrations I was going to do so it would relax me," said Stevenson, the world leader this season who set a personal best of 19-8¼ at the Modesto Relays on May 8. "Today was a day I knew there would be a ton of guys jumping really high."

Stevenson won the crowd over, but Mack would take the event. On his winning jump, Mack's chest grazed the bar. Already lying on the pad below, Mack watched as it danced for nearly three seconds before settling.

Mack then made three attempts to unseat Jeff Hartwig as the American record holder, missing at 19-9 3/4. It was a fitting end, coming two days after Hartwig failed to clear his opening height for the second straight Trials.

"I know I'm going to go in (to the Olympics) the same way I came into this competition, knowing that it's pretty much anyone's ballgame," said Mack, who placed eighth at the 2000 Trials. "There were 10 people that could have easily been on this team."


Men's pole vault
World record: 20-1 3/4 (Sergey Bubka, Ukraine, 1994); American record: 19-9 1/4 (Jeff Hartwig, 2000); Meet record: 19-4 3/4 (Kory Tarpenningr, 2000); World leader: 19-8 1/4 (Toby Stevenson, USA); Olympic "A" standard: 18-6 1/2; Olympic "B" standard: 18-2 1/2.

Olympic qualifiers: Timothy Mack, Nike, 19-4 1/4; Toby Stevenson, Nike, 19-2 1/4; Derek Miles, Nike, 19-1/4.

Failed to qualify: Tye Harvey, New Balance, 19-1/4; Nicholas Hysong, Nike, 18-10 1/4; Brad Walker, Nike, 18-10 1/4; Jim Davis, unattached, 18-10 1/4; Russ Buller, Asics, 18-8 1/4; Jacob Pauli, Nike, 18-1/2; Keenan King, Sky Athletics, 18-1/2; Justin Norberg, Shore Athlet, 18-1/2; Daniel Ryland, Bell Athletics, 17-8 1/2; Robert McLean, unattached, NH.



The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@ sacbee.com.