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Vaulting Off the Grid

by Dave Devine - Photos by John Nepolitan


Several months ago, when John Nepolitan was reporting his Vault Barn story in New York, he overheard two local coaches discussing a high school-aged, home schooled pole vaulter near Ithaca NY who had supposedly jumped near 18-feet in an obscure Masters meet last summer. Curiousity piqued, John and DyeStat assistant editor Dave Devine went looking for him.

You’d never find this place on your own. Not a chance. Forget about your maps and your street signs and your downloaded directions. Leave your Garmin and your Blackberry at home. Don’t bother with the dashboard GPS upgrade at the car rental counter. You may as well save your money. This kid’s living situation is called “off-the-gridâ€

Heck of an April Fools Day article.

achtungpv wrote:Heck of an April Fools Day article.

Yes, it's so well written that I considered believing it for a while. I am from the "Show Me State" though.

you wanna believe it until you see his pic. that kid doesn't jump 14' much less 18'.

If this training regime he has been on helped him out so much, don't you think it would be more well known if it is "old-school" and would have produced a lot more 18'+ vaulters, especially after training like this for many years while this kid has been training for only a few. Plus, if the kid never jumped in a meet before, how would he know exactly how high he could jump and that the standards couldn't accomodate him. Again, well written and almost beleivable on first glance but not possible.

Wow. I actually believed it.

I knew it was BS when they talked about the 30 minutes of pole vault coverage on TV.

It took me several years of vaulting before I was able to cap a 17' pole. And someone should have let him know that he didn't need to go to Finland to buy a UCS Spirit pole.

Ha that was my next point. How could someone get on a 17' pole in 3 months?

i believed it at first until i saw the date it was written.... what really threw me off was the kid wasnt wearing any spikes, and his pole cary looked a little wierd.

but they did a good job covering it up with the whole 'off the grid' thing because you could think the reason for no face shots was because his family didnt want publisity.

that would be incredible if it were true, getting on a 17 footer without any other poles in between in three months!

Oh I could do that... if that was all I did for three solid months, CONSTANTLY, had an amazing background in sprinting, lifting, and gymnastics, took loads of steroids and other stuff like that, had the best possible coaching in the world watching my every movement with the latest technology, and---still probably a no...