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From goat-roping to pole vaulting - Dragila seeks new heights
SYDNEY, Sept 18 (AFP) - Seven years ago, Stacy Dragila had never heard of pole vaulting. But then, as far as women were concerned, nor had the Olympics. Now, on the eve of the athletics events at the Sydney Olympics, 29-year-old American Dragila is poised as favourite for the inaugural women's pole vault gold medal, and reckoned to be one of the few athletes from track and field with a chance of cementing that achievement with a world record in Stadium Australia. This, the Olympic year of the woman, a century after the first women Olympic competitors, sees a range of new sports and events for women introduced to the Games, ranging from water polo to the hammer. The pole vault, not included on the international championship programme until three years ago, has been rushed to Olympic status. It is perfect timing for Dragila, who is already the inaugural world champion indoors and out. Since when, Dragila has underlined her dominance by setting the world record at 4.63 metres in winning the United States championship in July. It is a world away from Dragila's early sporting endeavours, when she often took part in rodeo competitions - including goat roping. Pole vaulting has attracted a variety of arcane skills from women new to the sport - gymnasts are common, and Dragila's predecessor as world record-holder, Australia's Emma George, used to perform on the flying trapeze in the circus. "When I was growing up, I never dreamed of being here at the Olympics," Dragila says. "Walking into the stadium last Friday was just plain awesome. I was ready to compete right then, I was so jazzed up. "This has been an amazing journey. It's great to feel that I am here and part of it all. That night gave me memories that will be kept forever." Dragila's progression has been hard work, full of sacrifices for her and husband, Brent. His military work helped to pay her way through college, and her athletics achievements (including a 100,000-dollar bonus for breaking the world record at last year's world championships) are now helping him to complete his studies. "It's been tough, sometimes I had to do two jobs just to pay my college fees," Dragila says. "But you have to make these sacrifices if you want to be a successful athlete." It was at college that Dragila moved away from rodeo events to athletics, starting out as a 400-metre hurdler and then heptathlete. One day at Idaho State University, her coach - a pole vaulter himself - invited some of his female students to give the event a try. "He said he thought it would be fun," she says. Dragila's first effort cleared just 60 centimetres. "I never really understood why I was doing it. I certainly never dreamed that I would be doing it at the Olympic Games." Dragila's first US record came in 1994, a relatively modest 3.05m. "It all really started after I won the vault at the 1996 Olympic Trials, when it was just a demonstration event. There was talk then of it being included in Sydney, and I thought that if I put my dedication into this sport, then I could go for it." Despite an American public apathetic to "track and field", Dragila has been doing her best to publicise her event, competing in special events on the beach at Santa Monica or down 5th Avenue in New York, and appearing in a television ad shown during this year's SuperBowl. She reckons part of the event's attraction is the risk factor - the chance of athletes hurting themselves. She feels safe enough, though: "I'm a little daredevil, a little crazy, sure, but I'm a little smart, too." Sydney's notorious swirling winds may cause her problems. With athletes in a number of events critical of the weather conditions - too chilly for evening finals - saying that they will work against world record performances, Dragila's participation is possibly the best guarantee of at least one world record in Sydney. She says she has cleared 4.70 metres in training recently. She is certain to put on a good show.
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