Stevenson earns his victory run (article)
Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 1:04 pm
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.
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.
