Jenn Suhr
London 2012 Olympic Games Pole Vault champion Jenn Suhr is the latest addition to the roster of IAAF diarists and wrote her first entry from Florida.
“Hello from the Sunshine State… home to some of America's best track athletes, Mickey Mouse, and plenty of Florida oranges.
“In the USA over the last few decades, there have been a bunch of sports stars who have been interviewed right after championship performances and are asked what they are going to do now that they won the big game. And they always say, ‘I'm going to Disney World’.
“Well, I don't actually play a game as such and I was not part of any national ad campaign for Disney, but I did come here to Florida after the USA Championships last week to do a little light training away from the New York winter, have some fun in the sun and, yes, go to Disney World!
“When people ask me about the Pole Vault, they usually have their own life or death experience or have witnessed a memorable Pole Vault moment - sometimes good but mostly bad - and I usually just laugh and say: ‘Yep, that's the pole vault.’
“This is not an easy event, really. At times it does look and feels easy but other times it seems nearly impossible.
“For me, the last eight months have had the usual roller coaster feel of ups-and- downs. But thankfully, the highs were big last summer and they got even higher just over a week ago when I went over a World indoor record of 5.02m.
“Speaking of roller coasters, my husband and I did the Disney Theme Park tour here in Orlando. We had a blast and I have to admit, it is a lot less scary free-falling to the pole vault pad from five metres in the air than it is going down a steep drop, in the dark, strapped into a Space Mountain roller coaster car!
“I also went on an attraction called The SlingShot. This is a ride where you sit in a seat and they harness you in with all kinds of belts. Using bungee cords they launch you from the ground toward the sky. In reality, you end up 110 metres in the air before you start to fall back to earth. All of this happens in just seconds!
“I've almost had my fill of the Florida sunshine and am looking forward to getting back to my normal training routine back at home. Hopefully the weather is starting to break and I can retire the shovel for the year.
“My next events will be the Drake Relays and the adidas Grand Prix, New York's Samsung Diamond League event. Of course, the US Championships are on my calendar as well and that’s where I will try and punch my ticket to the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
“Talk to you next month.”
