Mika Santos Article (Phillipines)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://news.inq7.net/sunday/index.php?i ... y_id=54248

ALL IN THE GAME
This Pole Vaulter Reached Unexpected Heights…
… and is Still Going Higher


First posted 10:23am (Mla time) Oct 23, 2005
By Ruel S. de Vera
Inquirer News Service



Editor's Note: Published on page Q3 of the October 23, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

FIRST, there is the furious pounding of feet before the long, flexible pole strikes the ground; kinetic energy viciously kicks in as the body rises improbably high above the ground. Then, the body evens out, reaching as high as it will. Like an airborne Ace of Spades flipping over to win a hand, the legs fold, and the body seems to pause for just one moment, right above the bar, before the inevitable descent.

This is the split-second drama of the pole vault. It’s all so busy and involved, that series of seconds when a pole vaulter must clear the bar and then dream of vaulting even higher. It is not a pedestrian aspiration and a very selective discipline. It is hard to imagine that a child consciously decides that upon growing up, he or she will take up the pole vault instead of gymnastics or riding horses.

Mika Santos certainly didn’t ever think she would become a pole vaulter of all things. The 20-year-old Santos doesn’t even look at herself as a jock, adding, “it’s all very unexpected and it’s all happening so fast.â€Â

[Bruce Caldwell]

Mika Santos Congrats on your great jumping.

A member of the ESSX TEAM

Bruce Caldwell 47