3 minute read
Tim Werner’s Swing-Up Rack
Sydney Horn
: Higher at High Point
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A make-shift pole vault pit located in a vacant lot sparked the beginning of Tim Werner’s journey into the sport. His life-long dedication to pole vault is a culmination of ambition, fearlessness, and tenacity, but it is his revolutionizing invention of the Swing-Up Rack that has sent ripples through the pole vault world. Through coaches, friends, and competitors, Werner transformed from an ambitious, young athlete to a mentor and inventor himself. His Swing-Up Rack has emerged as a coveted pole vaulting tool, a device once inspired by world-class pole vaulters that now shapes them.
The mechanics of the pole vault necessitate a versatile athlete. What makes the event different from others is that it demands movement-specific strength, particularly for a strong invert. Inspired by his life long friend Mike Tully, who masterfully executed an early version of a “Bubka,” Werner discovered that the swing needed to be trained in the absence of power and speed. This led to the creation of a Swing-Up Rack prototype, known by his athletes as the “torture rack.” It was a crude contraption that stabilized an athlete’s shoulders to help build strength during the invert. After witnessing his athletes’ progress, Werner embarked on a mission to develop a refined product that would aid other vaulters too.
Photo credit: Pole Vault Carolina
By Maddie Davies
Crafting a pole vault apparatus seemed to come naturally to Werner as he described how “even as a kid, [he loved] figuring out how to make pole vault standards and landing pads out of scrap materials.” He had always been curious and was fascinated by mechanics and all things engineering-related. Werner attributes his math and engineering genes to his mother, who had her master’s in mathematics from Columbia University; and the business side of him to his father, who was vice president of a large supply company. He credits the courage to pursue this entrepreneurial endeavor to the support of those around him.
In need of expertise in biomechanics, Werner sought the guidance of Professors Dr. Toshio Moritani and Dr. Mark Walsh to develop the key to training a strong and powerful swing. In speaking to Dr. Walsh, Werner learned that “energy can be added to the pole vault after the vaulter leaves the ground with muscle strength and sequential motion.” He believed that a SwingUp Rack would revolutionize the way coaches taught the swing-up by “[breaking] down each phase of the swing-up to develop task-specific strength.”
In 2015, Werner constructed a more compact and comfortable version of his original device that trained more efficient technique, and was awarded two patents for his invention. It didn’t take long for professional athletes to start talking about this game-changer.
The Swing-Up Rack has filled a niche in pole vault training in a way no other drill has done before. It comfortably and effectively trains all sizes of vaulters. It has become Tim’s contribution to the event.
Demand for The Swing-Up Rack has skyrocketed. Werner recalls being contacted by 2 professional athletes who first used the rack in preparation for the World Championships and reveals that one told him, “It helps me build the strength to do what I am trying to do in the vault like nothing else.” Soon after, new national and world records were set, and the Swing-Up Rack became a constant among these athletes’ training regimens.
Inquiries from athletes have come from Germany, Belgium, Italy, Puerto Rico, and Estonia. The Swing-Up Rack gets results and support for it comes from around the world.
Tim’s small idea, plus his courage to act on it, has transformed training for the current generation of the event and rasied the bar for what is achievable.
