Darren Niedermeyer Article

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/index.php?ntid=39712

Passion for pole vaulting: UW's Niedermeyer eyes second Big Ten title

By Jim Polzin
May 12, 2005


There's the football, basketball and baseball crowd, and then there's Darren Niedermeyer, who never can be accused of settling for the mainstream sports. His athletic passion at various points in his life has drifted from archery to mountain biking to pole vaulting.

There's no question where Niedermeyer's heart is right now.

"Pole vaulting," said the fifth-year senior for the University of Wisconsin men's track and field team, "is the thing I've set my mind on."

What started as a hobby when he was a freshman in high school has turned into an obsession for Niedermeyer, who has developed into one of the elite pole vaulters in the Big Ten Conference. Had it not been for a season-long battle with nagging injuries, he'd likely be the favorite heading into the Big Ten outdoor championships, which begin Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Even with a bum hip and a sore spine, Niedermeyer figures to challenge for the pole vault crown. He won it at the 2004 Big Ten indoors, took second at the outdoors later that year, and tied for fifth earlier this season at indoors despite the aforementioned ailments.



"I would never count him out," said UW assistant coach Mark Napier. "He's a tough competitor and a tough kid."

Niedermeyer isn't about to let injuries derail his promising career. Not this time.

He was on the fast track to a potential Olympic career in archery when, as a 16-year-old, he tore muscles in his shoulder during a mountain biking accident.

"I was being coached (in archery) by a friend of my dad's and I was really progressing," said Niedermeyer, a native of Schaumburg, Ill. "I had just shot the best I had ever shot.

"Then I went out and rode my mountain bike on a trail. I went down a hill and I remember waking up at the bottom and my helmet was cracked."

And his archery career, at least for the then, was over. Niedermeyer could barely pull back his bow.

"That pretty much shot everything I worked towards," Niedermeyer said. "I was really bummed. You work for a long time ... and you're shooting really well, and it all goes down the drain."

To his credit, Niedermeyer dusted himself off and moved on. He had become a good pole vaulter despite having few expectations upon taking up the sport.

"In high school, all the kids that weren't very athletic just got shoved over to the pole vault area," Niedermeyer said. "I was pretty uncoordinated. I wasn't fast, couldn't really jump, so it was like, 'Go do pole vault.' "

Niedermeyer eventually walked on at Wyoming, leaving archery in his rear-view mirror.

"I wanted out of the Midwest," he said of his decision to head to Wyoming. "It was a nice, small school in the mountains."

And mountains meant mountain-biking in his spare time.

"I got a new helmet that wasn't cracked," he said, "and I just kept on mountain-biking."

But somewhere along the way, pole vaulting became Niedermeyer's passion. He was developing nicely with the Cowboys until the school decided to drop pole vaulting following his sophomore season due to budget concerns.

But Niedermeyer arranged a visit to Madison, liked what he saw at the UW and joined a program that has dominated the Big Ten under coach Ed Nuttycombe.

Napier, who oversees the Badgers' field events, saw plenty of talent in Niedermeyer. But he didn't expect Niedermeyer to come right in and win a Big Ten title a year ago.

"After that it really showed me his competitive side," Napier said of Niedermeyer, who had a personal-best vault of 16 feet, 10 inches at the 2004 Big Ten indoors. "I've come to realize that he's always going to be a contender."

Which is why Napier expects Niedermeyer to be in the mix for a title this weekend despite his injuries. So does Niedermeyer.

"I'm still confident," said Niedermeyer, who has posted vaults of over 17 feet in practice when healthy. "I really think I can win it again."

[achtungpv]

When I see the name "Niedermeyer", all I think of is Animal House.

[Lax PV]

ata way darren--good luck this weekend at big tens---im waitin to see how you do