PATIENCE is a virtue Alana Boyd has in abundance but it is not helping her to the heights she needs to defend her Commonwealth pole vault title.
Boyd posted another A-qualifying height — her sixth this season — at the Queensland Track Classic in a promising warm-up for the Australian titles, which start on Thursday. She had an easy clearance on her third attempt at 4.50m but was unsatisfied with her failure to deal with the next height at 4.62m. The Queenslander needs to be pushed, and waiting around while her competitors are struggling to clear 4.10m does not help. It can take more than an hour for the bar to reach a height at which Boyd can enter the competition. Run-throughs, stretching and nibbling on snacks help pass the time but the looming European season is what she needs to kickstart her way back towards her 4.76m personal best. “In Sydney it took about one hour and 20 minutes before my first jump,” she said. “I make sure I refuel. It’s not a secret weapon, I just make sure I’m not hungry by the time I start jumping.” Boyd’s main rival at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games this year will be Great Britain’s Holly Bleasdale, who cleared 4.73m at an indoor meet in February. more
