Posted: January 24, 2005

Athletics: USATF Teleconference Excerpts

USA Track & Field on Monday hosted a teleconference in promotion of the 2005 Visa Championships Series and the 98th Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York City .

2000 Olympic gold medalist Stacy Dragila, who will attempt to win her seventh career Millrose title on February 4, addressed the media on Monday, along with Rick Suhr, who is the club coach of high school girl's pole vault phenom Mary Saxer of Lancaster , N.Y.

After raising the national high school girl's indoor pole vault record three times already this year, Saxer did it twice more on January 8 at Dartmouth College , becoming the first U.S. high school girl ever to clear 14 feet either indoors or outdoors. Saxer, a high school senior, was scheduled to take a three-hour Social Studies exam and was unable to participate in the call.

Below are excerpts from the teleconference. An audio replay is also available.

Stacy Dragila

Q: Could you please bring us up to date on how things have been going for you since the Olympics?

A: As everybody knows, my Olympic quest in 2004 was disappointing. I went in injured and was unsuccessful in making it through the qualifying rounds. So I came home and re-evaluated my goals to decide whether or not to go on. We took a couple weeks to a month to see if my Achilles would subside and calm down and they did once I stopped training, thankfully. So my coach and I decided to give it another go and to take the fall very cautiously and making sure that the technical things have been addressed and, of course, the medical aspect working with a therapist very extensively to make sure that I'm loose and that I'm not doing anything to aggravate my Achilles again. From all of that everything is coming around smoothly.

Q: Could you talk about the Visa Championships Series incentive programs and how they play a role in how athletes prepare to compete in those events?

A: It was real exciting to hear that Visa did step up to the challenge to take on the Millrose Games and to give those type of incentives out. I was very fortunate a couple years ago when GM/Pontiac was giving away cars for the best female and male athlete of the indoor season and I was awarded a car and I still drive it. So I feel very fortunate to be a part of something like that. It's huge for the athletes to hear something like that, that a big sponsor is coming forward and supporting U.S. athletes. I think it really helps us determine where we're going to spend our indoor season, and with $25,000 up for grabs I think you're going to see a lot of U.S. athletes staying here on U.S. soil and trying to boost our commercialism. I think we have a lot of great athletes out there after doing so well at the Games in Athens, and for our spectators in the states to see us here in several different meets that will be televised is a huge success for us. I'm very thankful for Visa stepping up to the plate.

Q: What are you working on specifically in practice these days?

A: We're working on the run-up, we're working on the pole plant, we're working on a freer takeoff and a better visualization of the whole vault. It's kind of surprising that it only took me a good month to get over my Achilles flare-up and I kind of knew that going into the Games. If I had two weeks (prior to the Olympics) where I could stay off my feet I think it would subside enough for me to get out there and get the jumps in to make me confident again so I could've been out there for the finals. Time wasn't on my side at the time and I had to walk away not making it to the finals.

Q: How much longer do you see yourself vaulting?

A: Realistically I kinda see a two year window and then I think I'll re-assess to see if I'm still having fun and still have passion for the pole vault and goals that I want to try to set. If two years roll by and I'm still having a lot of fun with it I don't think that another two years is too far out of the window. These last four years rolled by so fast that I can't believe the Games have come and gone already. As disappointed as I was in 2004 and walking through the Closing Ceremonies, as soon as they brought out the kids to get excited about Beijing and then demonstrating some great things they do in their country, I got a little excited. The ultimate goal would be to go to 2008 and Beijing, but realistically having awesome seasons the next two years would be a highlight after disappointments in 2004. I'm just thankful I'm back on the runway and happy again.

Q: Do you have any words of wisdom for Rick and Mary as they head into Millrose?

A: I think he's taking a great approach to it. When my first experience to jump at Millrose came about my coach had jumped there in college and he said it's a three ring circus, it's chaotic and if we can just work on one or two things I'll be really pleased. Over the years we've gotten used to the lights and the closeness of the proximity of the track and how they do the relays and the kids running across the pole vault runway. You have to be ready for a lot of visualization things that aren't typically in the area of the pole vault. Rick and Mary have approached it in a great way and this is her first time to really be showcased on TV as the #1 high school athlete, and for her to rub shoulders with me and Kellie Suttle and the like, is really going to give her confidence going into the outdoor season and beyond.

Rick Suhr

Q: Could you give us a little background on Mary (Saxer) and how she's looking forward to competing at the Millrose Games?

A: Mary is doing well. She competed at the Armory this past weekend in one of the first times she's competed on a Mondo surface and I think the speed coming in made things different. Mary is a unique athlete in the fact that she's only vaulted a little over a year now and became the first high school girl to jump 14 (feet), which we're tremendously proud of. That quest started back in September, and we figured out of our group of 2-3 girls that we could have the first 14-footer. Mary just accelerated through September and the thing that's helped her is six to seven months of straight training without any injuries. That's given her an edge against the rest of the country and the girls she trains with.

Q: Could you talk about Mary's training at your indoor facility?

A: Training in Buffalo is different. My field house gets up to about 35 degrees this time of year, but we jump in it. To jump outdoor track in the spring in Buffalo you have to be able to jump in 30 to 40 degree weather. You have funny winds that come off the Great Lakes and it certainly is a funny style of jumping, and staying healthy is that much tougher. With most of the runways up here we don't use spikes and they don't allow spikes as most of them are just gym floors and older style gyms. We're pretty happy to go down to the Armory and get on a fast runway this weekend to get a little bit ready for Millrose and adjust to the speed of the runway.

Q: In competing in such a different environment for Mary (Millrose), what are your goals for that competition?

A: It's different. There's been a lot of attention. Last year we had a girl leading at the high school level and we anticipated her being in a position like this, but Mary just accelerated and the question I get all the time is how high can she jump, and you just never know. She's not a real experienced vaulter and I think at Millrose there's gonna be a lot of people in that arena and that will be a new experience for us with a very inexperienced pole vaulter. Mary's been around track a long time, but she hasn't been around the vault, but we're looking more forward to seeing Stacy jump and seeing the other athletes jump that we read and hear about all the time.

Q: Which colleges might Mary be interested in attending?

A: Mary is looking into North Carolina. She's looking at Nebraska and she's going out to Notre Dame this weekend, and those are her top three choices right now.