Vol. 2 No. 40 Pole Vaulters vs. Distance Runners

Jason Scott, the son of one of our reader's was going for 17'7" in the PV at Kansas Relays last weekend. Pole snapped and he got 7 stitches in his elbow. I asked his father Phil Scott (a former national junior college decathelon champ), about polevaulters and their battle scars. Phil said Jason got a broken pole into his stomach once and another time one stuck under his eye. So it rather humbles our discussions of how badly our legs hurt when we run at or above sea level. Anyway those guys belong in another category of human endeavor. Just having to transport a pole to a meet via a bus or airplane is almost inconceivable. At least they don't have to worry too much about lactic acid build up at altitude. George