Superstitions
Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2004 7:58 am
What superstitions do you have?
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/st ... 3229c.html
Track topic: Getting into a routine
Athletes' routines: Ice bath, 'hospital,' prayer
By John Schumacher -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, July 13, 2004
The hours leading up to competition can be nerve-wracking. It's time to collect your thoughts and make sure nothing goes wrong.
For some track athletes, that means performing certain rituals. For others, the final countdown centers around avoiding the wrong kinds of food.
Pole vaulter Derek Miles admits to a weird superstition: He won't clip his fingernails or shave 24 hours before his event.
"You go to a meet, have a bad meet, OK, how many different things contributed to that?" he said. "If you can't figure it out on the runway, if you can't figure out why you didn't jump high, then it's got to be because you clipped your fingernails 24 hours before.
"It's one of those things that has no bearing on it whatsoever. Vaulting is such a hit-and-miss sport, it's hard not to become a little bit somewhat superstitious."
Whatever you call it, it worked; Miles finished third in the pole vault Sunday to earn his first trip to the Olympics.
Miles also tries to relax in the final hours, spending time in a fictitious place his coach Earl Bell calls "the hospital."
"You've got to be in the hospital, not doing a whole lot," Miles said.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/st ... 3229c.html
Track topic: Getting into a routine
Athletes' routines: Ice bath, 'hospital,' prayer
By John Schumacher -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, July 13, 2004
The hours leading up to competition can be nerve-wracking. It's time to collect your thoughts and make sure nothing goes wrong.
For some track athletes, that means performing certain rituals. For others, the final countdown centers around avoiding the wrong kinds of food.
Pole vaulter Derek Miles admits to a weird superstition: He won't clip his fingernails or shave 24 hours before his event.
"You go to a meet, have a bad meet, OK, how many different things contributed to that?" he said. "If you can't figure it out on the runway, if you can't figure out why you didn't jump high, then it's got to be because you clipped your fingernails 24 hours before.
"It's one of those things that has no bearing on it whatsoever. Vaulting is such a hit-and-miss sport, it's hard not to become a little bit somewhat superstitious."
Whatever you call it, it worked; Miles finished third in the pole vault Sunday to earn his first trip to the Olympics.
Miles also tries to relax in the final hours, spending time in a fictitious place his coach Earl Bell calls "the hospital."
"You've got to be in the hospital, not doing a whole lot," Miles said.
