Dragila's comeback in the works

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Dragila's comeback in the works
Pole vault pioneer plotting her return after a year away

By: Todd Mordhorst, Journal Sports Editor
Saturday, August 26, 2006 11:45 PM PDT


Placer High graduate Stacy Dragila was back in Auburn last weekend at the Auburn Community Cancer Endowment Fund's Dedication dinner. The 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the pole vault had surgery on a partially torn Achilles tendon earlier this year. She's planning to return to the sport she helped pioneer next spring. courtesy photo
Stacy Dragila has the drive to reclaim her spot at the top of the pole vault world. A focus on upper body strength training has her feeling as strong as ever. At age 35, the Auburn native is feeling refreshed and eager to get back on the runway.

At this point, Dragila's only Achilles heel is... her Achilles.

The American record holder in the women's pole vault has not competed this year. She had surgery to repair two longitudinal tears in her Achilles tendon in June.

Most athletes her age would be contemplating retirement after a serious physical setback, but at the Auburn Community Cancer Endowment Fund's dedication dinner last weekend, Dragila insisted she's as motivated as ever to dive back into the sport she helped pioneer.

"I think if you step away from it for too long, then you decide, 'Okay, I don't need to do this anymore. I'm happy, I've done what I want to do,'" Dragila said. "But for me, I think I still have that competitive spirit to keep pushing for the goals that I think I can attain. Those things keep me going and I look forward to being in the mix with the top girls in the world."


Dragila, a 1990 Placer High graduate, has held the American pole vault record for a full decade. In June, she surrendered her U.S. Outdoor championship for the first time since 1996 as Jennifer Stuczynski cleared 14 feet, 11 inches to win the title.

Stuczynski and former Olympic teammate Jillian Schwartz figure to be Dragila's top American competition next spring, when Dragila hopes to make her return. The 2007 indoor season is a possibility, but her goal is to be back at full strength by the outdoor season next year.

"I'm just going to take this fall really easy," said Dragila, who got a thumbs-up from her doctor after an examination last week. "If I have to bypass the indoor season to make sure I'm 100 percent for the outdoor, then we'll do that. I'm just going to continue to listen to my doctor and do my homework."

Dragila is thankful to have the opportunity to vault again after what could have been a devastating injury. But doctors cleaned up some scar tissue in her tendon and sewed up two tears in the tendon. She's been in San Diego most of the summer rehabilitating her leg and enjoying some down time.

The first-ever Olympic gold medallist in the women's pole vault is not going to take any chances with the touchy injury.

"I put so much force on it and it's my takeoff foot, so I have to be real careful at first," Dragila said. "I'm sure it's going to be painful, but then my mind has to just forget about it and I have to trust it."

In her absence, the Americans have been unable to approach the level of the top international talent. Yelena Isinbayeva is still dominating the world scene and provides plenty of motivation for Dragila, who watched the Russian star soar to gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics after she failed to qualify for the finals. Fellow Russian Svetlana Feofanova won the silver.

Dragila has the 2007 International Association of Athletics Federation World Championships circled on her calendar. The meet takes place in Osaka, Japan next September.

"I really want to be ready for that, to get on the international scene again and have some good competition with the Russian girls."

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China would be the next logical goal. Dragila would relish another shot at Olympic glory after a nagging foot injury slowed her down at the Athens games.

Dragila is back with her original coach, Dave Nielsen, in Pocatello, Idaho, where she lives with her husband, Brent. After living in Phoenix for a couple of years, Dragila is happy to be back in a small-town atmosphere that she said is similar to her hometown of Auburn.

"Everyone in this community just keeps encouraging me and going back to Idaho, it's a small community too and they're excited for me," she said. "It's really nice that I have that backing, I just have really good support."