Byline: Scott Stocker, Rocky Mountain News
SUPERIOR -- By its very nature, Pat Manson's sport is full of ups and downs, but the 37-year-old pole-vaulter has been near the top a long time.
Last week, in a meet at the Air Force Academy, Manson vaulted 18 feet, one-half inch for the victory and a unique world record.
Manson's vault marked the 20th consecutive season, dating to high school at Aurora Central, that he has topped 18 feet. Eighteen feet is the world-class standard in the pole vault - equivalent to a 4-minute mile for world-class runners.
And Manson's record is one that might never be broken.
World record-holder Sergei Bubka of Ukraine topped 18 feet for only 17 consecutive years, though Manson says Bubka's five consecutive world titles will be difficult to match, too.
Who could catch Manson?
American Earl Bell, a role model for Manson and now a noted coach at Jonesboro, Ark., had held the record at 18 consecutive years (1975-1992), but he is retired.
'As it turned out, I actually broke the mark last year, but not a whole lot was made of it at first,' Manson said. 'It was the 20th, more of a magic number, that it was really brought to our attention.'
There are only a few others with streaks of more than 10 years. Russia's Rodian Gataullin, the second vaulter to clear 19-8, had 15 years but is retired.
Most notable among active vaulters is France's Jean Galfione, the 1996 Olympics champion, who is at 14 years.
Ahead of his peers
'Those over 10 years at 18 feet are as old as me,' Manson said. 'So I would think my record is safe for at least seven years. There are now a few younger vaulters with three to four years with consecutive vaulting seasons over 18. Our organization (International Association of Athletics Federations) seems to have a good handle on it.
'It's longevity, for sure, and it all started in Colorado. 'I kind of feel like a Cal Ripken Jr. (baseball's record holder for consecutive games played). For this kind of record, you need to start young and stay healthy.'
Manson was competing the day Bubka set the world-record height of 20-21/4 in 1993 at Donyetsk, Ukraine.
Manson, who capped his high school career as the state pole-vault champion in 1986, is the only Colorado high school athlete to have vaulted more than 17 feet, let alone the 18-footer he got in a Jefferson County meet that year.
'It is a small group that goes over 18 feet each year, and only 11 have ever gone over 19-8,' Manson said. 'I've vaulted 19-2. I had the right conditions and coaching when I started with John Green and T.J. Henderson. I still love it and I've been blessed with the opportunities to keep jumping.'
Green has nothing but praise for Manson, whom he coached at Aurora Central.
'Nothing has changed in 20 years,' said Green, now the district athletic director for the Cherry Creek schools. 'He was a stud in 1986, '85 and '84. He is driven and all about perfection.
'What a great kid, but the bottom line is that he is a great human. And he has not lost any of his step.'
On the day Manson vaulted 18 feet in high school, he stopped at that height because he also was preparing for the National Junior meet at Towson, Md., the following weekend.
'I was second at the Juniors jumping against college guys,' said Manson, who still is a fit 5-foot-9, 157 pounds. 'What is memorable is that it was the first year for the Junior Worlds and I was able to make my first U.S. team, qualifying for the meet in Athens.
'Yet it was the first time for me over 18 that season and I've been able to do it every year since.'
That same summer, Manson also won the National High School outdoor pole-vault title at San Francisco, going over the bar at 17-4.
As it turned out, there would be a 14-year gap before another high school vaulter, Eric Eschbach from Texas, would top 18 feet. Eschbach went on to the University of Nebraska, where he was coached by Rick Attig, Manson's old coach at Kansas.
Manson still holds the national high school indoor pole-vault record of 17-61/2 at Flagstaff, Ariz.
Got his 18 on third try
Manson said he had a good fall training season, and jumping early in January, he almost gained his first 18-footer of the year. He had been in one other outdoor meet before the one at Air Force, winning at the University of Colorado. He stopped at 17-0 because of weather.
Manson lives in Superior, where he runs his new business, Vault Mortgage Co. He and his wife, Amy (Legacki), have two children - Max, 4, and Mia, 2.
Manson met his wife at the 1993 U.S. Nationals in Eugene, Ore. The couple began corresponding after meeting again at the U.S. Nationals in Knoxville, Tenn., a year later and were married in 1997.
'Amy is from Boston and graduated from the University of Indiana, where she was a distance runner,' said Manson, who proposed the day after the 1996 U.S. Nationals. 'Like me, she has also been an Olympic Trials qualifier, but in 5,000 meters and marathons. We have a joke in the family: She's track, I'm field.'
The Junior Worlds was just the beginning for Manson, a winner of the 1986 Fred Steinmark High School Athlete of the Year Award. Following his graduation from Aurora Central, where he was the class valedictorian, he went to the University of Kansas.
'We had the best pole-vault group in college when I was at Kansas,' said Manson, who set two NCAA meet records with the Jayhawks.
Manson, a member of the IAAF Grand Prix Tour for 12 years as a professional, has competed in four Pan American Games. He won gold medals in 1991, 1995 and 1999 and still holds the Pan Am Games pole-vault record at 18-101/2.
'I've been to the four corners of the Earth, jumped in rain and snow and I've been lost in train stations all over the world,' said Manson, who was an alternate for the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. 'I've competed in huge competitions and little tiny ones, but the Olympics is a goal missed so far. I've been to five Olympic Trials.'
Manson and Amy, 35, compete under the banner of the Indiana Invaders Track Club and also have their own club, the Superior Track Club, for young athletes in grades 2-8.
Likes working with youth
Manson does his summer workouts at Monarch High School and has no problems jumping in to help with some coaching.
'One of the fun things is that I get to work with the kids,' Manson said. 'Their coach, Kent Rieder, is a former vaulter, so I guess I fit in. I would like to work with more kids around the state and I would like to visit schools where there is a need for someone like me.'
Manson knows several schools have dropped pole vaulting or are thinking of dropping it. He would hate to see that happen.
'It's interesting to note the pole vault is one of the biggest growth events for young women and ladies,' Manson said. 'There have been a lot of gymnasts who have been able to adjust to the event and the interest is growing. I just hope it stays as a staple track event for boys and girls.'
Manson's next major meet will be the Kansas Relays on April 23. He said he has been asked by friends if he will retire anytime soon.
'Half of me is saying it's time to retire,' he said. 'Of course, I don't travel as much as I used to and with my new business, I have to pick and choose where I am going to compete. I don't jump on planes and fly around, and right now I don't have plans for any international meets. But that could change. . . . Athletes perform on a bell curve. They peak, then, of course, drop off. When do you stop? Right now, I don't know, but my life's priorities have changed.'
One thing that does not seem likely to change for a while in his longevity record.
'But it's a record that will undoubtedly be broken,' he said. 'That's what records are for.'
CAPTION(S):
Photo (4)
Pat Manson has been the face of pole-vault consistency for 20 years. In the process, he has won three gold medals in the Pan American Games and qualified as alternate for the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. 'I've been to the four corners of the Earth, jumped in rain and snow, and I've been lost in train stations all over the world,' Manson said.
CAPTION: Pat Manson. PHOTOS BY BARRY GUTIERREZ / ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
CAPTION: 1986 / Pat Manson reached new heights atAurora Central, becoming the only Colorado high school athlete to clear 17 feet in the pole vault and clearing 18 feet for the first time. He also received the Fred Steinmark High School Athlete of the Year Award. NEWS FILE PHOTO
CAPTION: 2005 / During practice at the Steinhauer Field House at Colorado School of Mines,Pat Manson shows he has not lost a step in the pole vault. Manson has vaulted more than 18 feet for 20 consecutive years. He cleared 18 feet, one-half inch at the Air Force Academylast week. BARRY GUTIERREZ / ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
