Stacy Dragila vaults 4.83m in Ostrava (© AFP/Getty Images)
While injury and the dominating presence and personality of Yelena Isinbayeva may have forced her in the background of the women’s Pole Vault, two-time World champion Stacy Dragila is out to prove that she is still a force to be reckoned with in the event she helped steer towards the limelight of the sport.
“I'm just not ready for (retirement) yet,” said Dragila, now 36 and on the mend from Achilles tendon surgery last June to repair two large tears. “I don't sit back and go 'wow, I've accomplished all that.' That keeps motivating me to come out.”
After a pair of modest outings - clearances of just 4.30 and 4.10 - this spring, her first since the 2005 World Championships, Dragila’s comeback will continue at the adidas Track Classic on 20 May in Carson, California, the first stop of USA Track & Field’s Visa Championship Series.
The NACAC Area Permit meeting in Carson is one of a select group of Area Permit meetings at which points can be earned for qualification to the IAAF World Athletics Final.
“My first two competitions [in 2007] haven't been stellar by any means, but things are coming along,” she insists. After a few years in Arizona with coach Greg Hull, Dragila recently relocated back to more familiar surroundings with previous coach Dave Nielsen, a situation that has reenergised the 2000 Olympic champion and 2001 World Athlete of the year.
“I like some of the cues Greg gave me, but Dave didn't feel that I changed much when I went with Greg,” she said. “I trust him [Nielsen] wholeheartedly. Lots of people have said they're so glad I went back to Dave because we have some great chemistry. Dave has helped me work through some confidence issues, and falling back in love with the Pole Vault.”
While she produced solid marks – she won the 2001 world title, took second at the 2004 World Indoor Championships and upped her national record to 4.83 in Ostrava that same year—during the ensuing years, her ongoing difficulties with her lingering Achilles tendon problem eventually led to confidence issues, one of the primary reasons that she failed to qualify for the Olympic final in Athens.
In the meantime, her event has made tremendous leaps in both quality and popularity since she claimed the first Olympic title, and she strongly feels she has plenty more to offer.
“It's definitely in a place where a lot of people never thought it would be,” she said of her event. “To see that now, I'm pretty pleased. Now it's part of the Golden League, when a couple years ago when I won Women's Athlete of the Year, it took them a few more years to decide it was credible. It's kind of incredible.”
She readily gives credit where it’s due, and praises Isinbayeva for carrying the event’s torch. But it’s the mighty Russian who also helps fuel her desire to remain in the sport and press on.
“I've never been at the top of my game to compete against (Isinbayeva), and that eats at me a little bit. I'm a competitor and I want to see what I have left.”
To fully restore her fierce competitiveness, Dragila has a hefty schedule in front of her. Penciled into her schedule are domestic outings in Eugene (27-May) and New York, a pair of outings in Europe prior to the US championships –“If I’m feeling comfortable,” she said”—and Ostrava, Paris, Rome and Rethymnon after that.
“It's all tentative, but I like to have a schedule out in front of me. I need to be mentally prepared.”
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
