Holliday Returns

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/ ... .0424.html

Oregon Invitational: Holliday makes successful return

By Chris Hansen 
The Register-Guard

With seemingly little effort and no rust, pole vaulter Becky Holliday cleared the first attempt of her 2004 outdoor season on Saturday.

She then made her second ... and her third ... and every attempt thereafter, until she eventually missed on her sixth jump of the day at the Oregon Invitational track and field meet at Hayward Field.

It was, if nothing else, an encouraging return to the sport for the former Oregon athlete and NCAA outdoor record-holder, who hadn't competed since the World Championships last August.

Holliday, now competing for New Balance, won the event with a height of 14 feet, 5 1/2 inches - the same height that won her the NCAA title last spring as an Oregon senior, but well under her record of 14-8.

"I've been out training for so long, I've been ready to get some action," said Holliday, who finished third at the U.S. Championships last summer. "I've just been working on getting faster and stronger. I haven't even been working on the pole vault. So I was nervous coming in just because I didn't know where I was at."

Holliday waited until the bar had been raised to 12-8 to make her first attempt, which she cleared effortlessly. Then came clearances at 13-5, 13-9 3/4 , 14-1 3/4 and 14-5 1/2 - the last three coming after her fellow competitors had dropped out.

Holliday had the bar raised to 14-9, but didn't come close on her three attempts, as she struggled with a heavier pole.

"(At first) I was on poles I was confident using," said Holliday, who will be back at Hayward next Saturday for the Oregon Twilight meet. "But my goal is to raise the bar this year, and that means bigger poles. I thought this was a good chance to get one of my bigger poles and get up on it a couple times. I didn't exactly have confidence on the runway getting on those poles. I hadn't touched them in a year."

[vaulterpunk]

I'm glad she is coming back strong. This years olympic trials will be very exciting with all the girls jumping well.