Helena, Montana –Last Chance Pole Vault Festival attracts Olympic hopefuls, up-and-comers to Women’s Park. Olympic aspirations and those of setting new personal records propelled boys and girls, men and women alike into the air on Saturday at the Last Chance Pole Vault Festival. Pole vaulters with their poles look like medieval knights waiting to joust before they lower their poles and begin their practice runs. Dan Smith, 15, is among those with pole in hand and said he’s hoping to set a personal best. He’s been clearing the bar at 9-foot-6-inches and wants to reach the 10-foot mark when it’s his turn to compete. Sure he’d be disappointed if he didn’t reach that height, he said, but he wants to clear the bar at the 12-foot level in about a year from now. His 13-foot pole at his side, the Helena High School sophomore said he’s been jumping, which is how vaulters refer to their sport, since seventh grade. His brother started when he began his freshman year of high school. Smith tagged along for those summer practice sessions. There’s lots to consider once it’s time for a jump, he said. He concentrates on the run toward the bar and focuses on not falling or rolling an ankle. And then there’s planting the end of the pole in the “box,” before momentum and the bending pole lift him into the air. more
