Howe learning to conquer the demons inside her head

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/beijing2008/ ... 94538.html

Howe learning to conquer the demons inside her head


Jessica Halloran
August 26, 2007

POLE vaulter Kym Howe looks like she is about to cry just before she hits the runway. There's a war in Howe's head and she fears she won't be able to twist her body over the bar. Over and over in her mind she warns herself: "Clear the bar, clear the bar".

Australia's best-ever female pole vaulter is constantly trying not to crumble in competition.

"It's a sight," Howe says. "You see me out there in the competition and there's a lot of stuff going on in my head which probably shouldn't be there. I should be thinking all positive thoughts, but there's a lot of negative stuff, too."

Howe, 27, who broke her Australian record again this year by clearing 4.72 metres at a meet in the Ukraine, has recently seen a sports psychologist to sort it all out.

"I had to work out how to deal with my nerves with the help of a psychologist, and after a number of years doing it, I am getting better," Howe says.

"A lot of people say out on the track I look like I'm about to burst into tears. I look mean and upset - but it's not that, it's just me trying to process what's going through my head and not let myself crumble."

Tonight she'll prepare to jump against the great Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, the only woman to have cleared five metres. Howe will be joined by the Australian duo of Alana Boyd and young star Vicki Parnov in attempting to qualify for the final of the pole vault.

Fortunately, Australia's best chance of a medal in the women's pole vault says her nerves have been in better shape in recent times. "There's a lot girls jumping around the heights that I am," Howe says. "It will basically be who can perform on the day, and who can clear heights first attempt. It's a major champs - a lot of top athletes bomb out in major champs. You are just making sure you are not one of those."

Howe is conscious of having only a few more years in the sport, and after enduring a knee injury off and on for almost five years, she is determined to make these final seasons count.

"There's been a few ups and downs," she says. "I know I've only got a couple of years left, and I've finally got a chance with my body to be reasonably OK, to get up as much as I can, and when I don't produce the [personal bests] that I want to, it gets disappointing. But then I have to sit back and say I have become the best pole vaulter in Australia.

"I am doing OK. I'm trying to be a little more relaxed on myself. Rather than being so hard, I just have to enjoy it a bit more."

The women's pole vault final is on Tuesday night.