Boston - Stuczynski 4.82 AR, Hooker 6.06 #2 vaulter all-time

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Stuczynski sets new American record
POSTED: February 8, 2009 Save | Print | Email | Read comments | Post a comment
BOSTON (AP) - Jenn Stuczynski knew how many times she had tried to break the American record in the pole vault without clearing the bar: 'Too many.'

The Olympic silver medalist and Fredonia native finally cleared the bar at 15 feet, 9 inches on Saturday to break a six-year-old American mark and win the Boston Indoor Games for the third straight year. Stuczynski, who has broken the American outdoor record four times in the last 18 months, earned a $25,000 bonus for breaking the U.S. mark.

'I tried it so many times; I wanted to make it today,' said Stuczynski, who finished second in Beijing when Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva set a world record of 16-6. 'The height was beating me for a long time. This time, I'm actually beating the height.'

Stuczynski estimated that she tried to break Stacy Dragila's 2003 mark of 15-9 about a dozen times over the past three years - including last year in Boston and last week at the Millrose Games in New York, when she won with a height of 15-5. Dragila finished a distant second.

Olympic champion Steven Hooker of Australia won the men's pole vault with a height of 19 feet, 10 inches - the eighth-best in history, and the only person other than Sergei Bubka to reach it. He tried to beat Bubka's world record of 20 feet, 2 inches, but hit the bar hard the first try, ran under it on the second and hit the bar with his midsection on his way down on his third attempt.

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Stuczynski 'relieved' at record
4 days ago
Jenn Stuczynski spoke of her relief at finally taking down Stacy Dragila's indoor American pole vault record on Saturday.
Stuczynski, the American outdoor record holder, landed a US dollars 25,000 bonus at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games when she topped 2000 Olympic champion Dragila's near-five-year-old national mark of 4.81 metres.
"I think it was a relief. It's a mental game you play with yourself. I've tried this so many times and now I want to make it. I tried to stay focused on it and go with the routine jumps," she said.
She had come agonisingly close eight days previously during last weekend's Millrose Games at New York's Madison Square Garden but needed no second chance in Boston.
Stuczynski cleared 4.82m on her first attempt having sailed over 4.52m and 4.62m in consecutive vaults and at last produced the clearance she knew she was capable of.
She added: "It was definitely harder to do than you say it is," Stuczynski said. "I didn't know if I was going to do well. I didn't have a feeling about it going into this meet. It was a big question mark. I just didn't know how I was going to perform."
With her new national record in the bag, Stuczynski had the bar raised to a world record height of 4.96m in an effort to break Elena Isinbaeva of Russia's world record of 4.95m.
That mark proved too much, however, and the American, two days on from her 27th birthday, settled for just the one milestone with Dragila finishing second having cleared 4.42m and Norway's Cathrine Larsaasen third on 4.02m.

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Hooker’s rise continues - 6.06m in Boston

Flying higher still - Steve Hooker scales 6.06m in Boston (Victah Sailer)
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Boston, Massachusetts, USA – Steve Hooker delivered on the hype which has followed him since his 6.01m Pole Vault clearance and subsequent World Record attempts at 6.16m last weekend in New York.

Hooker entered Saturday’s (7) Reebok Boston Indoor Games competition at 5.62m, after four of the seven vaulters who entered had already finished up, and cleared that height easily. He then passed at 5.72m (where Derek Miles cleared and Darren Niedermeyer, who had passed 5.62m, missed) and cleared 5.87m on his first attempt as Miles faltered.

With the competition won, Hooker set the bar at 6.06m as the women's 5000m was on the track. After two misses, Hooker cleared on the third attempt, and in doing so, surpassed all but one pole vaulter in history indoors.

Why 6.06m? Because that gave him the Australian national record, not just indoors, but outdoors. The former mark of 6.05m was held by Dmitri Markov.

Bubka's mark is next

After clearing 6.06m, Hooker once again set the standards to 6.16m and made three more attempts at bettering Sergey Bubka's 1993 World Record of 6.15m. On the first attempt, he ran through, and on the second, he hit the bar on the way up.

"I moved the uprights back after that, and I think my third attempt was my best," Hooker said afterward. However, he had no illusions that the bar might stay on. "I hit it with pretty much everything on the way down," he said.

"6.06m was a big goal of mine," Hooker explained. "Now it's just the world record. It will happen. All I need is more attempts." Hooker may get those additional attempts; his schedule includes meets in Paris, Donetsk, and Stockholm before the indoor season is over.

"I was happy to jump well two weeks in a row," he added. "It was great to have the 6.01m, but being able to back it up this week was even better."

With 4.82m clearance, Stuczynski moves up to #3

Hooker wasn't the only pole vaulter making world record attempts tonight, as Jenn Stuczynski finally passed Stacy Dragila on the all-time indoor list and moved to #3 all-time with a 4.82m clearance.

Stuczynski entered with a first-attempt clearance at 4.52m (the height where Dragila herself, the last remaining vaulter, missed) and cleared 4.62m on her first attempt as well. She then moved the bar to 4.82m and cleared that without a miss. Only then did she have missed attempts: at 4.96m, just beyond Yelena Isinbayeva's 4.95m WR.

"It was a relief," Stuczynski said of finally surpassing Dragila's national record. "I've been trying that for three years now, maybe a dozen attempts.

“Technically I'm a better jumper than that first time, but sometimes the bar starts to win. This indoor season is all about getting over things, and that was one of them." Stuczynski will vault again in Fayetteville, Arkansas, next week.

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Stuczynski gets bonus for aiming high
Jenn Stuczynski propelled herself over the bar at 15 feet 9 3/4 inches to set the American indoor pole vault record. (Mary Schwalm/Associated Press)
By Shira Springer
Globe Staff / February 8, 2009
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Pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski tried to treat the Reebok Boston Indoor Games as just another competition. She kept telling herself each attempt was just another jump. But each time she sprinted down the runway last night at the Reggie Lewis Center, Stuczynski knew an American indoor record would bring a $25,000 performance bonus. There was pressure and incentive to set a new mark, especially since Stuczynski felt ready for a record performance.

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So, when she cleared 15 feet 9 3/4 inches, she reacted with elation and relief. Stuczynski broke the previous American record of 15-9 1/4 held by Stacy Dragila, who finished second (14-6) last night.

"It's definitely harder to do than you say it is," said Stuczynski. "I was trying to treat it like a normal meet. But I was telling my coach beforehand, if I had to say how I felt I would do, it was a big question mark. I didn't know anything. I didn't know if I was going to do well. I was very nervous going into this meet."

With about a dozen failed attempts at the American indoor record over the course of three years, Stuczynski added that breaking the mark was as much mental as physical.

"It's a mental game you play with yourself," said Stuczynski. "You're like, 'I've tried this so many times. Now, I want to make it today.' I tried to stay focused on it and go through routine jumps . . . This time, I think, technically, I'm a lot better jumper overall. So, now it's getting over the mind part. When you miss a bar so many times, the bar starts to win. The height was beating me for a long time. This time, I was actually beating the height."

But Stuczynski didn't waste any time setting her sights on the world indoor record, and made three attempts at 16-3 1/4. On the first try, she thought her pole was too light and she switched to a new pole for the second and third jumps.

"On the third jump [at the world-record height], I committed," said Stuczynski. "It was a good attempt. It's just cleaning it up now and getting used to the timing."

There may be another bonus in the near future for Stuczynski, though she still has no plans for the $25,000 she pocketed.

When asked if she would head to Newbury Street with a portion of her winnings, Stuczynski said, "No, no. I'm going to relax right now because I was under a lot of stress today."

Hooker: Aussie mark
Reigning Olympic gold medal pole vaulter Steve Hooker made three attempts at setting a new world record, but failed to clear 20-2 1/2. Still, he was happy to walk away with a new personal best of 19-10 1/2 and a new Australian record.
"I jumped a PB and it's the second highest of all time," said Hooker. "Now, there's no one between me and the world record. That's the next aim . . . I felt pretty good. I've just got to do some fine-tuning."

With the right pole and the right setting, Hooker believes he can break Sergey Bubka's indoor mark of 20-2. While Hooker had the hip height on the final attempt at the world record, he couldn't clear the bar.

"I hit it with just about everything," said Hooker. "You've got to get everything over, unfortunately. It will happen, I think, if things keep progressing the way they're going and if I stay healthy."