7/6/08

EUGENE -- The Hayward Field crowd gasped at the announced news: Jenn Stuczynski, the U.S. record holder in the pole vault, was one miss away from missing the Olympics. The nation's best hope for a pole vault medal in Beijing stood poised on the runway, trying to make her opening height.

Not only did Stuczynski nail her next attempt, but she went on to set another U.S. record in winning the Olympic trials Sunday. She came up short in two shots at the world record, but showed she is the unquestioned leader of the second Olympic generation of women pole vaulters.