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2015 VAULTER MAGAZINE
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WORK VAULTER
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CONTENTS
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FROM THE EDITOR
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LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY
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THE GOLDEN EAGLE POLE VAULTERS
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THE MOMENT YOU STEP ON THE RUNWAY YOU’VE ALREADY WON
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Q&A WITH PROFESSIONAL VAULTER MARY SAXER
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Cover photo by Mark Moore
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FROM THE EDITOR Pumpkin patches, haunted houses, gorgeous trees—fall is here! You’ve settled into living at school and are used to your classes. Pre-season training isn’t quite so brutal now and earlybird meets are just around the corner! For this issue of Vaulter Magazine, we have a range of topics for you!
Olympics, Nikki broke her first Last but most certainly not pole on her opening jump. But least, our featured university this not only did she continue to month is Oral Roberts University. compete, Nikki overcame a mental barrier that takes a long time for many vaulters to overcome! How did she do it? Check out her article and read what happened, what she did to overcome it, and her advice on how to get past something as rattling as breakMary Saxer was recently inter- ing a pole. viewed about her life as an elite pole-vaulter. This month, we have Because there is a massive published that interview! Mary pit for pole vaulters to land on, talks about how she trains, when you would think that it would be she rests, what she eats, and so hard to miss, but for some reason much more. Sometimes knowing we all seem to miss it. Sometimes what the professionals do helps we fall short and land in the those who want to be profes- box. That’s exactly what college sional one day. All elites started sophomore, Jady Tolda did—she from square one and eventually didn’t get deep enough into the worked their way to the top. If pit and fell in the box. It doesn’t you are interested in how this happen very often, but Jady gem trains and lives her life as a found herself with a concussion professional vaulter, flip on over that put her on a very long road and check out her interview! to recovery. This recovery process has taught her many things Who has broken a pole? Who about brain injuries and how to has broken a pole in a competi- heal properly. If anyone has had tion? How hard was it to contin- a concussion, or needs a genue jumping after breaking your eral knowledge of what to do if pole? It’s not easy and not ev- the time ever comes, you should eryone has experienced what it read her article. The thought of is like. But Junior in high school getting hurt is always scary, but Nikki Ogorek has. At the end of it’s possible and Jady’s article her sophomore year, at Junior will help you know what to do.
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Under the supervision of Coach Joe Dial, the Golden Eagle vault crew is training hard for the upcoming seasons. Alongside Coach Dial is elite vaulter Jack Whitt, who will be coaching the team as well. Oral Roberts University has so much to offer their track team
and pole vaulters. If anyone is interested in going to a college that isn’t very big, has a breath-taking campus, and has a track team that is like a family, you need to look into Oral Roberts University! This pole vault crew will do great things—check them out!
Don’t forget to submit your images for our calendar contest! We look forward to seeing more progress from all of you. See you next month! Editor Sadie Lovett Sadie@vaultermagazine.com
Vaulter Club Pole Vault Gymnastics Fall 2015
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WWW.VAULTERMAGAZINE.COM Tommy Dial and Mondo Duplantis
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LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY By: Sadie Lovett
Jady Tolda has been a pole vaulter ever since her sophomore year at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego. She used to be a sprinter. But when she transfer high schools, she wanted to try something new. “The first day I pole vaulted, I jumped 8 feet,” she tells us, “I haven’t looked back since.” Falling in love with the sport instantly, Jady won the 2013 CIF San Diego Section meet, which qualified her for the California State Finals her senior year. She jumped 12 feet in high school, and after graduation, she attended the University of Chicago to pole vault. All was going well for Jady— she had a very successful Freshman year and she was ready to begin her sophomore season. But, to start her season, Jady fell short of the pit and landed in the box during warm-
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ups at a meet, which gave her a serious concussion and whiplash. Jady says:
“The fall itself wasn’t anything particularly abnormal for a vaulter. I got on too big of a pole during a warm-up jump and fell straight down into the box. The actual concussion came from the whiplash movement of my head. When I stood up, a teammate asked me if I was okay, and seemed concerned. I brushed the fall off, told him that I was fine, and returned to where my teammates were sitting.
As I sat there, I realized that while I could hear that my teammates talking, I couldn’t put their words together to mean anything. Their words just sounded like disjointed sounds all swirling around each other. I remember looking out over the track, and feeling like
the entire track was rotating and moving in abnormal ways.
I tried to brush it off and take one more jump, but halfway down the runway I finally accepted that something was wrong. I stopped, dropped my pole, looked at my coach, and said, “I have a concussion.”
My coach called over the head athletic trainer of the host school, who performed the eyetracking test that is standard in a quick diagnoses of concussion. He figured that if I had a concussion, it wasn’t bad, so I was instructed to “sit out” for the rest of the day. I now know, that given the nature of my fall, I should have immediately gone to a hospital for a CAT scan or MRI to make sure there was no internal bleeding. After that, I should have been instructed to immediately sit in a dark, quiet
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room for the rest of the day. But because I was unaware of this protocol, I spent the rest of the day talking to teammates, looking at my phone, and walking around to watch the meet. It wasn’t until that Monday (the fall happened on Saturday morning,) when I was
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able to see the head athletic trainer at my school that I was instructed to sit in a dark room with no electronics. However, the first 48 hours are vital in recovery, since most of the neuronal damage occurs in that period of time.”
When Jady had realized she had a concussion and it hadn’t been treated within the first 48 hours, she needed to give her brain time to heal. Meaning, she could not look at any type of electronic screen, no reading, no music: nothing that required her brain to overwork.
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Because of this, Jady ended up quitting her job as a research assistant in the psychology lab because it required her to look at computer screens a lot, and then she took incompletes in all her classes for that quarter and then a leave of absence for the following quarter. During Jady Tolda
that time, Jady wasn’t able to do much. She says:
“This injury is an invisible ghost. It is physically painful to look at screens, talk to people for more than a few minutes, or even concentrate on an audiobook, because thinking too hard exacerbates your migraine and dizziness. So for months, I sat in a dark room with nothing but dark thoughts about my future and symptoms. In that time, darkness really took me over. I had lost my academics, my work, my social life, my ability to play music, my ability to exercise, or even to communicate effectively. The concussion stole my vitality, my personality, my sense of humor and what felt like my life. It really was a dark, scary time.” Six months later, Jady is slowly recovering. She says:
“I have good days and bad ones. A large component of my residual symptoms came from other factors besides that brain injury itself. Because I also sustained a whiplash injury, I still require weekly chiropractic care and physical therapy on my neck. I advise any pole vaulter who sustains a bad fall to have their neck examined by a medical professional, since neck injuries can manifest in ways remarkably similar to a concussion, (i.e. migraines, dizziness,
lack of coordination.) Vestibular and physical therapy were hugely beneficial in that respect. The other huge component of my symptoms was the emotional turmoil. After such a long and isolating recovery, I faced pretty bad anxiety issues about my future, my vitality, and my lack of productivity. I got to a point that simple things like driving in a car on bumpy roads or doing anything that remotely mimicked the sensation of getting jolted paralyzed me with anxiety.
The longer my PCS went on, and the better I felt physically, the more I felt I had to lose by sustaining another concussion, so the anxiety got worse. Concussions are so difficult because it’s the only type of injury where the injured body part is trying to heal itself, and since it’s invisible, people eventually start to question its validity. The anxiety got so bad that my mind actually created symptoms identical to those of the concussion— simply because it was so afraid of feeling that again. It was a destructive cycle. So my anxiety caused REAL vertigo, dizziness, and concussion symptoms that were entirely created in my head from nothing more than anxiety itself. The mind is incredibly powerful, and regular psychotherapy can
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be extremely beneficial to anyone facing post-concussion syndrome.
At a little over 7 months in, I can expect to be fully recovered by the time I hit the 1-year mark. My doctors have been wonderful throughout the process, and my neurologist especially has been a beacon of Jady Tolda
hope in this dark time.”
Though Jady loves pole vault and it will always be a part of her life, the risk of another concussion made her decide not to pole vault when she is healed: “If I were to sustain another head injury, it would likely be exponentially worse and make me more prone to brain-related problems in the future.” The good news is that Jady has started to do some physical activity. “I’ve only just now begun to return to physical activity. I can walk, ride a stationary bike, and lift light weights. Running, heavy lifting, and most others things are not in the cards just yet,” she tells us. Her advice to all pole vaulters is:
“I know this is hard, but the main takeaway that I’d like to give concussed vaulters is to make sure that the first 7 days following your concussion, rest in a dark
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room with no physical, visual, or audible stimulation. It will be boring and terrible for a week, but it is better than having it drag on for months. A very real concern of returning to activity before your brain is healed is a disorder called Second Impact Syndrome. While rare, SIS occurs when the brain swells rapidly after a person suffers a second concussion before symptoms from an earlier one have subsided. The fatality rate is very high. There is a specific protocol one should follow once they get a concussion.
One should not return to physical cognitive activity until they follow this protocol: Must be symptom-free for 24 hours with each stage. PHASE 1: The athlete must experience no symptoms for a full 24 hours before attempting activity.
PHASE 2: Light activity, 5-15 minutes of walking or exercise bike. PHASE 3: Moderate activitylight jogging, etc. PHASE 4: No-contact practice PHASE 5: Regular practice PHASE 6: Return to play
This should be followed
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closely with a medical professional.
If Jady, or anyone, had known what to do within the first 48 hours of her concussion, maybe pole vaulting would have turned out differently for her. And though it may be sad that something like this happened to her, but now she is an example to other pole vaulters. Now Jady has the knowledge to help others know what to do when they don’t know for themselves. Concussions in pole vault don’t hap-
pen near as often as other sports such as football, but it is good to know what to do if the time ever comes. Jady closes with this:
“The best thing to do with an ongoing concussion is to come at treatment from all sides-mental, physical, and emotional. Because your neck, your anxiety over the situation, and the actual concussion are all very important factors that should be addressed for a comprehensive and complete recovery. Another important
piece of advice I have is that, there will be good days and bad in recovery. One day you will feel fine and the next you will wake up feeling like you’re back to square one. Celebrate the small victories and don’t lose hope.
Also, my situation is a rare case. The prognosis for an mTBI (especially the first one) is generally excellent, just make sure to not get back into sports until you are deemed ready by a medical professional!”
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OCTOBER 2015 ISSUE
WWW.VAULTERMAGAZINE.COM Steve Lewis
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THE GOLDEN EAGLE POLE VAULTERS By: Sadie Lovett
Coach Dial has been coaching since 1985, and in 1993, he arrived at Oral Roberts University. He coached at the University of Oklahoma, NEO A&M in Miami, Oklahoma, and Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma before he found his way to ORU. In his many years as a coach, Coach Dial has trained many successful vaulters such as Tim McMichaels, Terry Womack, Jeff Hanoch, Mike Hines, and Robert McDonald. In his time at ORU, Coach Dial has had many great vaulters from across the country and around the world. Some vaulters he has coached at ORU are Dena (Dial) Briscoe, Katie (Stoever) Hobgood, Racheal Viau, Lauren McFarland, Laura Arthur, as well as Shaun Schaffer, Tyson
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Smith, Bruce Dial, Dusty Gherke, NCAA Pole Vault Champion Jack Whitt, and many more.
For the 2015/2016 season, the ORU team is suiting up four male vaulters and five female vaulters. Returning Junior, Justin Estala will be the great
leader of this vault crew. With the success he has had in his pole-vault career, Justin will have no problem leading this team to being the best they can be. At Justin’s side will be freshman Tommy Dial. Tommy was one of the top high school vaulters in the country his seTommy Dial UCS Pole Vault Summit
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nior year with a PR of 17’2, so he should have no issues stepping into a leadership position. The new vaulters to the team are Tommy Dial, Matt Owen, Jack Stockstill, Brittany McDonald, Tiffany Richeson, Destiny Teel, Cassey Rice, and Cassie Scott.
Jack Whitt ORU
The ORU vault crew kicks off their fall training every year around September 8. During the off-season, the vaulters put in a lot of volume with long runs and lifting, which will carry them through both the indoor and outdoor season. This season, ORU will compete in many high level competitions all over the country including Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, Iowa, and many more competitions throughout the season. ORU currently has five total coaches. Coach Dial is the head coach and he has four assistant coaches: Shawn Venable the jumps coach, Evan Blackburn the cross country and distance coach, Jack Whitt assists pole vault, and Shawna Dial the assistant coach and Director of Operations. Jack Whitt was recently hired to help coach pole vault while he continues his training at ORU with Katy Viuf under the supervision of Coach Dial.
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Jack was very successful in his time at ORU. He was 8-time conference champion, 7-time All American, 2012 National Champion, and 2013 World team member. Katy is new to the vault crew, but has a personal best of 4.50m (14’9”). She will be helpful in mentoring the younger vaulters this upcoming season.
To be an ORU vaulter, one has to be willing to put in the work. “They have to be willing to put in the work to not only become the best athlete they can be, but also a devoted follower of Christ,” says Coach Dial, “they must show the characteristics the founder Oral Justin Estala
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Roberts set forth in the beginning of the University and be willing to be a devoted student athlete.”
ORU has a lot to offer their pole vaulters. Their facility has two indoor pits and runways set up, swing-up machine, rings, a vault united rolling high bar, and a full set of Pacer, Spirit, Altius, and a few ESSX poles. One runway is a flat mondo surface reaching 140 feet and a broad runway with the ability to reach 150 feet flat, and then the other is an 86-foot downhill runway. The massive collection of poles range from a 9’ 40 lb. pole to a 16’9” 220 lb. pole—they
are covered when it comes to poles!
As a team, the ORU vault crew has attended the Pole Vault Summit for fun. They also have a yearly fundraiser, Vaultober. For this fun meet, the competitors dress up and compete as best they can while having a good time with their teammates.
With the help from Coach Dial, and the leadership of the older vaulters, this vault crew has a lot of success coming their way! We will no doubt see great things from them in the future.
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Jack Whitt, Justin Estala, Cassie Scott, Jack Stockstill, Brittany McDonald, Tommy Dial, Tiffany Richeson, MAGAZINE Matt Owen, Destiny Teel, Cassy Rice, Joe Dial
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Justin Estala
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Pole Vault Clinics & Camps
“The Unfair Advantage!” 803.315.5998
www.ShealyAthletics.com
85 SCHS State Champions, 11 National Champions, and 3 “Team USA” (World Team) since 1998.
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THE MOMENT YOU STEP ON THE RUNWAY YOU’VE ALREADY WON By: Nikki Ogorek
Standing on the biggest runway of my high school season, I was reflecting on all of the training I had put in to make it this far. I thought back to all of the late night and early morning sessions spent in the gym completing ab circuits, cycling through sprint drills, countless lifting sessions, and an insane amount of pole runs in addition to vaulting. All of the dedication I had put in this season had gotten me this far, and I could not have been more proud of this moment.
I felt on top of the world. It was a hot, sunny day in Virginia Beach at the AAU Junior Olympics. The weather and scenery were breathtaking. This
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moment was surreal, especially for a mid-western girl. I could feel my blood pulsing through my veins, adrenaline reaching into my fingertips. Of course, all of us as pole vaulters feel nerves before almost every meet, but aside from being anxious, I was confident. My warm-ups felt like I was hitting my mental cues, and overall I was excited to jump. After passing a few bars my opening height came. I took one warm up jump on a 13’0”140 lb. carbon and as I landed on the mat, I tried to take in as much as I could so I could fully appreciate the moment. Shortly after the competition resumed, I was standing on the
runway ready to take my first attempt. I closed my eyes, and I visualized the vault I was about to take. I took a deep breath and began my first step. 7 lefts later, I was in the air. The next fractions of a second happened in slow motion.
My feet left the ground, and I swung to invert. Everything felt to be going right. From my invert I anticipated the unbend of the pole, but suddenly something felt different. SNAP! The crack of the pole sounded like a whip and the force sent vibrations through my left hand and up my arm. At first, it didn’t register to me what had happened. I thought that the starting gun had been shot
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to indicate the beginning of another race. But then, instead of feeling the pole unbend, I was rowing and nothing happened. Looking up at my feet I was confused as to how the bar could be getting farther away. It was then that I realized I was falling. I landed on the downward slope of the mat towards the box, on my lower
neck and upper shoulders, as they were first to hit the mat. The weight of my lower body folded at my waist, smashing my body in half.
I immediately jumped off of the mat and found my mom in the crowd standing over the railing. Giving her two thumbs up, my main concern was
letting her know that I was safe, before I even knew if I was all right. The pieces of my pole had flown across the field, and I was left with a 6-inch vertical bruise on my forearm. It was in that moment that something had changed. Of course I was initially rattled, but it actually increased Nikki Ogorek Broken Pole
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FUN FACT DID YOU KNOW
that the first women pole vault record was set in 1992 by Sun Caiyn from China with a jump of 4.05m (13’3 ¼). Now in 2015, Yelena Isinbayeva from Russia has it at 5.06m (16’7).
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my confidence. The officials were at my side instantly to assure my safety. I was given the option to walk away from the competition or to take a moment before I returned to the runway. But, I knew that the only way I could get back up, was if I went right then. Without giving myself the time to internalize and overthink, I began walking back to the runway. I briefly reasoned with myself as to why it broke. There was not a malfunction in the pole, it had not been spiked, it was just too much force for that pole. I was well under the weight rating, and I was gripping at 12’3”. I had the choice to walk away, but I knew this was not how I was going to end my sophomore season. I
didn’t want to watch all my work crumble under the pressure, so instead of being afraid of the pole break, I decided to use it as motivation to hit the next vault as strong as I hit the last one. I grabbed the 13’0”145 lb. carbon and decided to back up to my 8 left approach. I knew it was a gutsy move to go from a full approach back-to-backvaults after my pole broke, but with my coach’s confidence in me, I wasn’t afraid. I knew that if I just got back up I could accomplish anything. I realized that if I did the same vault on this bigger pole, then I could smoke this cross bar.
I closed my eyes and visualized this next vault being as perfect as I could imagine. With another deep breath, I began sprinting. The vault felt Nikki Ogorek Broken Pole
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just as powerful, if not more so, than the previous. I felt the clearance over the bar and as I was falling on to the mat I heard the crowd burst into applause. I stood on the mat, beaming with joy and wearing a smile across my face. I found my Mom in the crowd again and could see the relief on her face. I waved to the audience and the officials congratulated me on the ability to turn around and jump again. Tears of pride streamed down my face and I started shaking of adrenaline. Since I had not allowed myself to think about it moments ago, the reality of the moment hit me like a truck. I ran to my Coach, Mike Cockerham, who hugged me, and helped me refocus so I could continue in the competition.
The breaking of my pole sparked a new fire inside of me, I felt unstoppable. I proceeded to make the rest of my bars on first-attempts, and ended the day standing on the podium wearing a bronze medal around my neck. Pole vaulting is not a sport for the weak. We, as pole vaulters, are the bravest athletes I’ve ever met. A season is never perfect; we all have our ups and our downs. The highs are high, and the lows are low. But, the perseverance to keep pushing through when you
want to give up most defines who you are. Having resilience to bounce back from a negative situation, and the ability to turn a horrible situation into a positive one, will keep you pushing foreword.
I took my moment of weakness, and turned it into my strength. If I could give advice to vaulters everywhere, it would be to embrace the challenges and build the confidence to conquer them. At any given moment, you have the opportunity to stop and tell yourself that this is not how your season is going to end. Whether it’s a no-height in a meet, a broken pole, or an overall ‘off day’. If you can get back up after you have fallen down, then you should be proud.
I was having a conversation with April Steiner Bennett and what she told me really got me thinking. “The moment you step on the runway, you’ve already won.” It occurred to me that breaking a pole, or running through, does not mean that you have failed as a vaulter. Instead of trying to hide your mistakes, embrace them. If you dwell on the negatives, then you will only further imbed the problem that is preventing you from vaulting. So instead of being scared of my pole break, I was motivated
by it. I took my nerves and fears and turned it into inspiration. Which ultimately drove me to push myself beyond limits that I couldn’t even imagine were possible. We all know that vaulting is a mental game, but now it’s up to you to decide how you are going to let it affect you. You can change the way you look at your vault. Every jump, every practice, or every meet has at least three positive things about it. Count them. Never leave a meet without thinking about what you accomplished that day. We often gloss over our success as we beat ourselves up over the failures.
Look at every outcome and use it as a moment to learn something about you or your vault. These may seem like small victories, but none-theless they are there. Make note of your mistakes, but then move on and decide what to change next time. It’s okay to mess up, but how you move on from it will determine your confidence. Count your moments of success, because a large victory is nothing but a sequence of smaller victories. By stepping up to runway, you’ve already won. I’ve found my three positives, what are yours?
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Renaud Lavillenie
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Bobby, Artie, Marijane, CC, Latrece, & Glenn. Officials at the AAU JO meet in Virginia
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Q&A WITH PROFESSIONAL VAULTER
MARY SAXER
The women of Vaulter Fit are thoroughly excited to share with you guys an interview with one of our fitness role models, Mary Saxer, a professional pole vaulter from Buffalo, New York. She has jumped a season best of 15’2″ during the 2015 outdoor competition season, which finishes up by the middle of September. As an aspiring 2016 Olympic hopeful, Mary talks training schedule, diet, motivation, advice, and much more in her interview with Vaulter Fit! To learn more about Mary, check out her website!
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How many years have you been a professional pole vaulter? Is it a year-round commitment or is it just during the season? I have been a professional vaulter for 6 years. Thinking about that, man time sure flies. Until recently I thought of myself as a recent college grad, but that surely is no longer the case! Professional pole vaulting is a year round commitment. I usually take about a month away from vaulting and training in the early fall, but otherwise I am training or competing. When you are in training, what does your workout schedule look like? Do you workout every day or do you take days off? How long are your workouts?
My training varies depending on the time of year. After my month hiatus in the fall I begin training pretty hard. Fall training consists of running workouts, such as short speed endurance in order to get the heart rate up, but without pounding my legs into the ground by running unnecessary miles on end. I begin vaulting from short runs to overly focus on technique. During this time, vaulting is high rep in order to really feel
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Mary Saxer Pole Vault Summit
out body positioning. Vaulting on the runway is complimented with drills off the runway. Drills are often gymnastics based. During the fall, the weight room is heavy in order to gain strength to withstand the training and long year of competitions ahead. This time of year my workouts are usually several hours and sometimes twice a day. Once January hits, competitions begin and the train-
ing lightens up so that I can successfully make it down the runway and clear bars in competitions! I still do similar training to the fall, however the reps and weight lighten up. Throughout the year, especially the month between indoor and outdoor season, we put in training blocks with higher reps and weight just to make sure the body is maintaining its fitness. This time of year my workouts range from 2-3 hours on average, depend-
ing on if I am vaulting or not. Vault days are always longer practices.
Once the summer months hit I am pretty much on cruise control. The majority of the summer is spent competing in Europe. It is not always easy to find consistent training locations on the road, so my coach and I make due with what we have. I often compete every few days so the summer mostly consists of meet prep, competi-
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tions, and recovery to prepare for the next meet. Late in the summer is when I need to trust that my training from earlier in the year will carry me through.
FUN FACT DID YOU KNOW
that the first men pole vault record was set in 1912 by American Marc Wright with 4.02m (13’2 ½). As of February 2014, Renaud Lavillenie has it with 6.16m (20’2 ½).
I usually take one or two days off per week, depending on the training cycle, travel, and competitions. I will say that recovery is crucial to performing at the highest level and is just as important as my hard training days. Never underestimate the power of recovery! As a professional vaulter, what type of exercises/workouts are most important to your training?
While my entire training regimen is very important to my success, there is no replacement for actually pole-vaulting. Unfortunately, my body can only withstand a limited number of vault reps so that is where other training comes into play, especially drills. Pole vault is such a technical event so allowing your body to feel the necessary positions over and over again is crucial. Is there a specific workout that stands out in your mind as being the craziest/hardest workout you’ve ever done?
My freshman year of college particularly stands out in
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my head because I came in not knowing what to expect. They had us jumpers run fall workouts with the sprinters and each day was quite a challenge for a girl that only runs 112 feet down the pole vault runway. One of the hardest workouts I remember was repeat 300s. One day each week was the dreaded 300 workout. They were so tough and there seemed to always be a few people getting sick during or afterwards. Oh the joys. I sort of view it now as my initiation to college track. Workouts just got easier from there. What is your favorite part about training? What is your least favorite?
My favorite part about training is thinking about how cool it is I get to go out to the track each day and chase my dream. I work my butt off because I love my sport and want to be the best version of myself as a vaulter that I can be. When I look back on my career I want to be able to say I truly gave it my all each and every day. No regrets. And so far I can say that – regardless of results. Plus, it is pretty cool soaring through the air and landing in a big squishy mat. My least favorite part about training is that pole vault is an
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individual event and I often wish I was part of a team. I miss the college days showing up to practice knowing I got to spend several hours a day with teammates who essentially became family. I do feel blessed to be in an event group that is so close though. One of my best friends is another pro vaulter and in a sense I view her, and some others, as my team even though we are actually competitors. I’m sure working out as a job can get pretty exhaust-
ing. What keeps you motivated on days when you don’t feel like working out? Do you have any tricks to get yourself in the right frame of mind? Everyday sure isn’t sunshine and rainbows and my body often wants to just lay on the couch. What prevents me from just plopping on the couch on those days I may not feel like heading to the track is thinking about my ultimate goal and how bad I want it. When I think about missing the 2012 Olym-
pic team and being named the alternate based on a tie breaker or missing the 2013 World Championship by one place during my most consistent year yet, I remember how I felt at those moments and how I don’t want to feel that again. That is my motivation. On the other hand, I know what it feels like to be a national champion (2014) and compete for the USA at two world championships and what an incredible feeling that is. I want to feel that again, and that is my motivation. Mary Saxer Pole Vault Summit
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When you are working out in the off-season, what type of exercises do you like to do? Do you keep doing the same workouts as in-season or do you do any cross-training? In the off-season I really enjoy supplementing my training with yoga classes. I love that it is so different from my pole vault training. It is a breath of fresh air for me to go to a yoga studio, surround myself with people that know nothing about pole vault, and just listen to the music. It is sort of an escape from the daily training grind. I also love that it challenges me in a different way. I attempt poses and stretches that are not a part of my usual routine and I find that fun. I always leave feeling refreshed both mentally and physically. As a professional athlete, I’m sure nutrition plays a major role in your training. What is your approach to a healthy, balanced diet? Do you follow certain guidelines, keep track of calories, etc? Generally, my approach is to eat a lot of protein and watch my carbs. I do eat carbs, of course, but I limit them and try to make sure they are good carbs such as quinoa and whole wheat grains.
Including as many vegetables as possible is also very important. Fruits are a great natural sugar for breakfast and snacks. I don’t count calories because I have found that between watching my carbs, and choosing foods high in protein, fiber, and natural ingredients I feel pretty good. What is your go-to healthy snack when you are in training? Recently I have been bringing a bag full of grapes to practice for some natural sugar. I love cottage cheese or an apple with peanut butter though after training at home. What advice would you give someone who wants to get stronger and more powerful like a pole vaulter?
I would say it’s about balance. Being a pole vaulter requires upper body, lower body and core. It requires speed, strength and body awareness. I want to remind people not to neglect one area of their body. Mix up your workouts. Run sprints, jog, lift weights, do core, stretch, do yoga, treat yourself to massages, be aware of your diet, and get plenty of sleep. When you combine all these things you will find energy, strength…and balance!
From: www.vaulterfit.com/qa-with-professional-vaulter-mary-saxer/
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Bobby, Artie, Marijane, CC, Latrece, & Glenn. Officials at the AAU JO meet in Virginia
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