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Hey guys,
I'm 27 and since two years the club president (LAZ Zweibrücken) of world champion Raphael Holzdeppe (5,91m - 19'4) and his old / new coach Andrei Tivontchik (5,96m - 19'6).
I just want to introduce you maybe one of the next big pole vaulters. Fahad Sadig, born 1997 in Bagdad, has started in May 2012 in my group with athletics and with pv.

Here is his progression in these two years:
2012 - 15 years - 3,42m - 11'2
2013 - 16 years - 4,23m - 13'9
2014 - 17 years - 4,80m - 15'7 - 12 steps, pole 4.60m, flex 16.0, highest possible grip

In my opinion he has one of the best plants I've ever seen (PV experience since 1999), but we definitely need to work on his speed. He has also the big advantage, that his arms (wing-spread 1,96m) are much longer than his body height (1,83m) for a perfect shoulder flexibility.

Attached you'll find some vids of his vaults and a plant picture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF2ijsHedF0 jump over 4,80m - 15'7 to be the german champion U18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUZhNKVpsPk his best training vault with an almost perfect technique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcHdVZBdOXo nice plant from 8 steps

Seems like a promising guy! But there is always a long way from 5 to 5,80.

He is jumping nice, but I don´t agree about the plant. He is far under and have a "huge" bend in the pole before he leaves the ground. So I believe he should work on the plant more than on the speed (should always work on speed though).

Is this a perfect plant?

Definitely not a bad jump by any means. But the one thing you said that makes me doubt he is the next great thing: "but we definitely need to work on his speed".

The one thing almost all of the greats have in common is their speed. And technique is far easier to learn than speed is. Yes you can always get faster, and he may just get faster as he grows into his body and becomes more coordinated. But everything just looks like it is happening very slow in his vaults. A true test would be how fast is he right now without a pole in his hand.

I know everyone will argue that the only speed that matters is what he can do with a pole in his hand. But the 'average' elite male can run around 9.3 m/s with a pole in their hand while planting. So if he can not even do that without a pole, then his potential is limited by his speed.

Hi all,

personally i think it will be Kurtis Marschall. I think he is still only 17 but has already jumped 5.35m.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/more-sports/kurtis-marschall-exciting-pole-vault-prospect-rated-no2-in-world-for-youth-athletics/story-e6frf56c-1227162837079

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpJvkDx6Zzk

Still has alot of improvement in certain areas but that is a good thing.

He also has a training partner named Declan Carruthers who has jumped 5m and could also be big.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_wvAfK_iWI

Both guys for their age are quite mature and level headed, and I personally believe if they stay dedicated can make it to the big time.

I don't know how much those progression marks mean. After three years of experience, and at 17 years old, I jumped 15' 9" holding at 14' 7". Am I the next world competitor? I wouldn't mind it haha, but I don't think my marks warrant that kind of prediction.

timmac-pv wrote:Hi all,

personally i think it will be Kurtis Marschall. I think he is still only 17 but has already jumped 5.35m.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/more-sports/kurtis-marschall-exciting-pole-vault-prospect-rated-no2-in-world-for-youth-athletics/story-e6frf56c-1227162837079

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpJvkDx6Zzk

Still has alot of improvement in certain areas but that is a good thing.

He also has a training partner named Declan Carruthers who has jumped 5m and could also be big.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_wvAfK_iWI

Both guys for their age are quite mature and level headed, and I personally believe if they stay dedicated can make it to the big time.

Remember how i predicted these kids would be good!

Well Kurtis just jumped 5.70m (olympic qualify) and Declan has jumped 5.40m. both are 19 yrs old! Both trained by Kym Simons.

timmac-pv wrote:Remember how i predicted these kids would be good!

Well Kurtis just jumped 5.70m (olympic qualify) and Declan has jumped 5.40m. both are 19 yrs old! Both trained under Alan Launder before he passed.

I have to go with timmac on the Kurtis Marschall prediction and not just because he's my sentimental favorite.