Alana Boyd Article (Australia)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/c ... 89,00.html

Dad puts gloss on Alana's rapid rise
Paul Malone, Athletics
01dec05

DUAL Olympic pole vaulter Ray Boyd reckoned there was "always a pretty good pole vaulter" in Alana, the eldest of his elite athletics brood.

Boyd and his wife Denise, an Olympic finalist who has held the best 100m time by a Queensland woman for 32 years, had not prodded 21-year-old Alana strongly towards any specific event and he watched as she specialised in sprints, hurdles and the high jump.

So it was with a sense of fatherly satisfaction as well as a coach's appreciation of progress that he enjoyed Alana's posting of a Commonwealth Games A-qualifying height of 4.30m in Brisbane last Saturday after only 20 months of pole vaulting.

It propelled her like a well-timed vault up a list of Commonwealth competitors in the event to fourth to Canadian Dana Ellis (4.51m). Tatiana Grigorieva is second at 4.47m.

"Dad's been my only pole vault coach. There are downsides to having your dad as coach because you can say stuff to your dad which you wouldn't normally say to your coach, but I think I'm getting better with that," she said after a training session at the Sunshine Coast athletics track.

"It's good because I know he's been there as a pole vaulter himself so he knows what he's talking about."

Ray Boyd also coaches younger sister Jacinta, 19, in the long jump. Last Saturday she landed a 6.34m leap to be fourth behind Bronwyn Thompson (6.59m).

Matthew Boyd, 17, finished second with 4.90m in the men's pole vault behind Gold Coast-based Alex Miroshnichenko (5.25m).

When Alana was in Year 4, her school report card had a space in which students were asked to write their aim. She wrote: "To compete at the Olympic Games."

"We are no different to any other parent with kids involved in athletics," Ray Boyd said. "We've been there, but it's still exciting when they all do well. Knowing everybody in athletics, it has that little extra attachment to it."

Alana said: "Ever since I can remember, all of us have had the goal to compete at an Olympics."

Grigorieva is training in Europe after having been based at the Gold Coast, but Athletics Australia competitions manager David Gynther said the Sydney Olympics silver medallist was expected back for the Telstra A-series in February.

Boyd's early-season personal best delighted her family because it came only 15 weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist.

The women's pole vault has been one of the sport's most progressive events in the past three years, with Russian Svetlana Feofanova's feats being blown away by countrywoman Yelena Isinbayeva's achievement this year in breaking the 5m barrier.

Boyd says she does not see why she cannot improve to challenge the Russians.

"I have to work on my rockback. Isinbayeva has an awesome rockback and jumps like the men do," she said. "There are a few in the 4.70m-4.80m range and there's no reason why I can't be up there with them."

[vaultmd]

Ray used to come to Irvine to visit my training partner, Don Baird. He was one fast mofo.