In Olympic debut, Jenn Stuczynski wins silver medal
BEIJING, China - It all began with a pickup basketball game. Jenn Stuczynski was playing against the guys in a game at tiny Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y., when coach Rick Suhr walked by. She's good, he thought. Tough. Tall. Aggressive. Fast feet. Might make a good pole vaulter.
Four years later, she is the Olympic Silver Medalist.
"It was definitely exciting tonight, beyond words," said Stuczynski afterwards. "To go to your first Olympics and get a medal ... was great. I couldn't ask for any more."
The American Record-holder, reigning World Indoor Silver Medalist and No. 2 vaulter on the all-time list, Stuczynski entered the competition at 14 feet, 11.25 inches/4.55 meters, clearing on the first try. She also made her first attempt at 15 feet, 5 inches/4.70 meters, then needed a second attempt at 4.75 meters before making 15 feet, 9 inches/4.80 on her first try to clinch the silver medal. She took two attempts at 16 feet, 0.75 inches/4.90 meters, then realized she had gotten only two minutes instead of the required three minutes between jumps. Her protest was successful, so she was given an extra attempt at the height, but by the fourth and final attempt her legs were worn out. "I made a lot of jumps and I'm feeling it right now," she said.
"In '04, I was a 12-foot vaulter, not even," said Stuczynski, who is so new to the sport that she didn't even watch the event on TV in the last Olympics. "So for me to come four years later and compete .... It's just experience. It's just a matter of time. I'm going to keep working at it and see where it gets me."
|
