U.S. Pole Vaulters Suddenly Have Come Down From the Heights

Three days after Christmas in 1985, Billy Olson vaulted 19 feet 2 inches, breaking a world indoor pole vault record that had stood for 21 months.

In the next two months, the record fell eight more times, the climax coming when the Soviet Union’s Sergei Bubka cleared 19-6 at the USA-Mobil indoor championship meet Feb. 28, 1986, in New York.

When the season was over, the thought of clearing 19 feet no longer overwhelmed elite pole vaulters. The question wasn’t who could do it, but who couldn’t.

Only three vaulters had gone over 19 feet indoors before last season. Combined, they had done it seven times. But in that two-month period, the 19-foot barrier was broken 20 times by five different vaulters.

What 19-foot barrier, you may ask.

The question when this indoor season began was which vaulter would be the first to clear the 20-foot barrier. In this event, what goes up must go even higher.

Logic said it would be Bubka, who has jumped 19-8 and 19-8 1/2 outdoors. On the second week of this year, at a meet in Osaka, Japan, he raised his indoor record to 19-6 1/2.

Two Americans who held the record at one time or another last year, Olson and Joe Dial, promised that Bubka wouldn’t be alone at that height for long.

One month later, neither Olson nor Dial had cleared 19 feet. By this time last year, they had done it six times between them.

The only American who has gone over 19 feet this year is Earl Bell, who has done it three times, including his personal record of 19-2 3/4, three weeks ago in Portland, Ore.

Bell said he wasn’t that impressed with his performance at Portland.

Neither was Tom Jennings, who has Bell and Olson in his Pacific Coast Club.

“He kept hitting the bar, but it was one of those nights when it stayed up there,” Jennings said.

Olson, Dial and Bell are entered in the Times/GTE Indoor Games Friday night at the Forum, where Bubka set one of his four indoor records last year.

Bubka won’t be in Los Angeles this year but has entered the USA indoor championship meet Feb. 27 in New York and the first world indoor championship meet, March 6-9, in Indianapolis.

U.S. track and field fans are eager for him to arrive because the pole vault competition in North America this winter has been lackluster without him.

Following are the results of the major meets:

Dec. 28, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan--Bell won at 18-4.

Jan. 16, Sunkist Invitational at the Sports Arena--Dial won at 18-4 1/2. Olson no-heighted.

Jan. 16, Johnson City, Tenn.--Doug Lytle won at 18-1.

Jan. 16, Indianapolis--Dave Volz won at 17-3. The second-place height was 16-11.

Jan. 24, Portland--Bell won at 19-2 3/4 and had three jumps better than 18-8. Olson again no-heighted.

Jan. 30, Millrose Games in New York--Bell again won but had to jump only 18-4 3/4.

Feb. 7, Dallas--Olson finally cleared a height, winning at 18-4 3/4.

Feb. 14--East Rutherford, N.J.--Bell won at 19-0.

Olson vowed recently that he wouldn’t cut his hair or shave until he cleared 19 feet, but he said after the Dallas meet that his girlfriend objected.

“She said I was ugly,” he said. “That’s a direct quote.”

There are a number of theories on why the American vaulters are not reaching new heights, none of them advanced by Olson.

“Earl’s the thinker in the group,” Olson said.

When contacted last week by telephone at his home in Jonesboro, Ark., Bell said that the first thing people have to understand is that last season was exceptional.

“It was odd,” he said. “There was no Olympics or major meet at the end of the year. There was no reason for everyone to be psyched up.

“But it’s like golf. Occasionally you can get it clicking and make several birdies in a row. Then, everyone else around you gets it clicking, too.

“Nobody’s done that this year. Personally, I think it’s because Bubka’s out there at 19-8. It’s so hard to jump 19-8 that you can’t believe it. But now everybody’s trying to jump 19-8 in practice.

“They’ve all forgotten that you have to have a year-long plan. In the fall, I’m jumping 17-1 and 17-2 and barely making them. But you have to do that to build a base that will pay off later.”

When Bell’s remarks were repeated, Olson, speaking by telephone from his home in Dallas, recognized himself.

“He’s probably right,” Olson said. “It’s hard to put the bar at 17 feet in practice when you’re saying in your head, ‘Bubka’s probably jumping 20 feet right now. What am I doing this for?’ I just try to jump as high as I can in every practice.

“Maybe everybody’s trying too hard right now. We’re getting this question over and over. ‘Why are you guys so lousy now when you were great last year?’ So we’re trying to jump 19-6 or 19-7 at every meet.”

At this point in the season, Olson said he would be satisfied to clear 19 feet. He did it five times last season, setting four world records. His best was 19-5 1/2 last February at the Meadowlands.

Olson said that he had been better prepared for this season than for the last one but that he has had bad breaks, beginning with the Sunkist. He missed three attempts at 17-8 1/2.

“Joe Dial and Earl complained about the (plant) box,” Olson said. “A guy checked it later and found that, instead of a 105-degree angle, it was only 92 or 93 degrees. That stopped our momentum, causing us to come down on the bar.”

The next day, Olson caught the flu and lost seven pounds before he went to Portland the following weekend. He said he’s still five pounds below his ideal weight of 175.

“I was a history lesson as soon as I came down with the flu,” he said. “I think I can still jump 19 feet, but it’s doubtful I can go any higher before the end of the indoor season.”

Unlike the last two years, Olson said he will compete outdoors. Although he’s known primarily as an indoor vaulter, he said his goal this year is to make the U.S. team for the outdoor World meet, Aug. 29-Sept. 6, in Rome.

But even though that’s the most significant track and field meet of the year, Olson said he doesn’t believe the vaulters are concentrating less on the indoor season than in the past.

“There’s no question people are thinking about the World championships outdoors and the Olympics next year,” he said. “But everybody also wants to be the first to win at the World indoor championships. It’s indoors where we get most of our recognition.”

As Jennings said: “All of the vaulters have a little Billy Olson in them.”

Jennings said he believes the vaulters this year may have suffered from a reduced schedule. By this time in 1986, most of the Americans had competed at least three more times, but meets in Chicago, Albuquerque and Ottawa were canceled this year.

“That may help in the long run,” Jennings said. “All of the vaulters except for Bubka had peaked by this time last year. Maybe they won’t burn out so soon.

“It could be they’ll still have a good season. It may just come a little later.”