Carolina Carmichael finally broke through in April. A sophomore pole vaulter at Memphis University and a former IHSA state champion while at Lake Forest High School, Carmichael was competing in a meet at Auburn. For years, she had been fixated on one height. She’d tried countless times in practice and succeeded. But in meets, she’d failed to clear the bar. “I never made it to 13 feet. As soon as the bar went up, I would change something (in my routine),” Carmichael said. “I tried making excuses, but it was all in my head.” At the Auburn meet, she easily cleared 12-foot-7 on her first jump. The bar was raised to 12-10. She leaped over it. Next would be 13-1. “This is where I usually have a bad block,” Carmichael said. But the familiar feeling of tension that before had overwhelmed her body was replaced by tranquility. Her mind free of anxiety, she sprinted down the runway and leaped over the bar. She had done it. She had eclipsed 13 feet. “Two and a half years of frustrating times, and at that moment, it clicked,” Carmichael said. “I was screaming.” For Carmichael, clearing 13 feet represented more than a personal record. She conquered what can typically be the heaviest burden for an otherwise high-performing athlete: mental inhibition. And as the rest of Carmichael’s season proved, once that hurdle is scaled, the next one often becomes easier. more
