Canada –Kelsie Hendry sits on a bench in an open foyer at Tommy Douglas Collegiate and glances around at her new surroundings. Her pole has been exchanged for a pen. Her runway, now meant solely for walking, is the halls of the building. Hendry starts her first day of school as a full-time English and history teacher on Tuesday. The 2008 Olympic pole vaulter is retiring and beginning a new career. “I loved my track career. It was an exciting time and it was a good, long run,” the Saskatoon native says. “I’m excited because I think I’m going to be really busy being a new teacher, but I’m sure I’m going to miss (competition).” After a roller-coaster 14 months, the transition from the track to the classroom just made sense. A little more than a year ago, her athletic career was trending sky-high. Hendry set the Canadian women’s record by clearing 4.60 meters at an indoor event in Arizona in February 2012. The former Saskatchewan Huskie and three-time Canadian Interuniversity Sport champion had a clear goal: to not just compete in London at her second Olympics, but to reach the final. She needed only to clear 4.40 meters twice or 4.50 once at the Canadian Olympic trials in Calgary last June. Instead, she faulted three times at 4.20 meters and her Olympic dreams were dashed. more
