Travel Day + Answer to Pole ? & Blow Thru

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My usual Wednesday drive around on business day. I thought I felt pretty good and may even consider vaulting tomorrow ....... then got out of the car and felt how bad my body still feels. Good - it will make me play it safe.

I've gotten several questions about my poles and grips. My competition poles are either 14' 1" or 14' 7" but they look like I'm holding near the top. That's because I cut the tops off of all of them. Reason #1 is because if you clear the bar and your pole hits the bar, it's a miss. I jump with my crossbar back 32" behind the plant box so I have some pretty good forward speed and the pole doesn't always go back toward the runway. I cut them off so they fall under the bar. Reason #2 is so that no one else can use them. These poles are expensive and nobody treats them like you would, especially high school kids. Solves both problems. Have a great day! Bubba

PS - In the 1968 Olympics, John Pennel, the first man to vault 17', got the silver medal but should have gotten the gold. His pole fell under the bar and that used to be a miss. Now it is not.

Pennel was in a meet in Houston when we were kids and tried to become the first man to vault 18'. Though very close he did not get it. Before his last jump my brother, a 7' 6" vaulter, told him that his run didn't look good enough today. When the meet was over and the reporters were asking him questions, he said, "it's like that boy said, my run just wasn't good enough today". A few years later my brother would have the Houston record for freshman and go onto get 2nd at the Texas State meet and later vault 17' 4 1/2" (5.30m).

Here is my 2nd attempt at 13' (3.96m) on my first new 14' 7" (4.45m) pole. BIG blow through as I almost roll off the back of the pit. The next pole was too small too. The run is 65' and the grip is about 13' 3" (4.04m). Not to mention that I'm about 6" (15 cm) out at take off.