Missing the pit

[bel142]

We have all seen the footage of Pavel Gerasimov 5.65 (correct height?) in Greece... he missed the pit... 2004 Olympic finals. I would like to see some discussion on form/technique, perhaps more than just his alignment was off, about why he missed the pit.

If anyone can find footage of this jump that may be useful...

[KirkB]

We have all seen the footage of Pavel Gerasimov 5.65 (correct height?) ...

In the Finals of the 2004 Olympics, he started at 5.65, clearing it on his 2nd attempt. He then missed once at 5.70 and passed. I think he missed the pit on his first attempt at 5.80 and then scratched himself, since he didn't leave the ground on his final attempt.

Here's some info that I just found here http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/athens/track/2004-08-27-mens-roundup_x.htm about this ...

There was a frightening moment in the competition when Russian Pavel Gerasimov failed at 18-6½, then missed the landing area, falling on his back on the hard infield surface at Olympic Stadium. But Gerasimov climbed to his feet, walking away and rubbing his lower back. He attempted one more jump, at 18-10½, but stopped midway down the runway because of the pain and withdrew from the competition.

Stevenson said the incident showed why he wears a helmet -- just in case a jump goes terribly awry. He promised his parents he'd wear it when he was in high school, and he keeps wearing because he feels more secure, no matter how good he is at his craft.

Gerasimov "is a great vaulter," Stevenson said, "and look what happened to him."

I haven't found any vid of that yet, but I would also like to see what happened.

What does anyone recall ... that saw it?

Kirk

[KirkB]

Here's another reference to his narrow escapes ... this one from the Lisbon World Championships (2001) ...

On a more negative note, Russian pole-vaulter Pavel Gerasimov was taken to hospital after falling badly on his pole, fracturing 4 ribs. He had managed to increase his personal best to 5m70 and was trying for 5m80 when the accident happened. Portuguese doctors who assisted Pavel Gerasimov on the scene said he was lucky not to have died, which could have happened if the pole had hit him in the centre of his chest. He continues to be hospitalised but fortunately is not in a dangerous condition.

Kirk

[Robert schmitt]

I saw it in the back round while they were showing another race. It looked like he landed on some type of covered storage. It is the only vid I have seen of it.

[rainbowgirl28]

Here are some videos of him vaulting from Stabhochsprung:

http://www.stabhoch.com/movies/20050811 ... ov_565.mov
http://www.stabhoch.com/movies/20010310 ... ov_570.mov

[Tim McMichael]

He throws his head back at the worst time possible. This causes him to loose a sense of where he is at in the air at the time when the option to bail is just about gone. (This is because the structures in the inner ear that control balance don't work when the head is back.) There are a number of reasons a person can veer off to the right or left during a jump, but to miss a pit as big as the one at the games you would have to be almost directly over the top of the standard. An athlete who cannot tell that things have gone wrong to this degree is going to be unsafe.

[KirkB]

Good call, Tim. Sadly, there's no logical reason to throw your head back like that ... it must be just a bad habit, developed when he was younger and THOUGHT there was a good reason for it.

Even in his stabhochsprung 5.65 jump above, he seems to veer off to the right quite a bit ... it's hard to see exactly, but I think he landed near the corner of the PLZ.

Kirk

[rainbowgirl28]

He throws his head back at the worst time possible. This causes him to loose a sense of where he is at in the air at the time when the option to bail is just about gone. (This is because the structures in the inner ear that control balance don't work when the head is back.) There are a number of reasons a person can veer off to the right or left during a jump, but to miss a pit as big as the one at the games you would have to be almost directly over the top of the standard. An athlete who cannot tell that things have gone wrong to this degree is going to be unsafe.

Maybe that's why Tommy Skipper missed the pit in practice a few years ago...

[vault3rb0y]

Never thought of it like that. Should have made the connection between sobriety field tests and pole vaulting!!

[bel142]

I am not sure about the rules about posting something like this on youtube but for the sake of the conversation here you go...
Take a look before it gets shut down...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMRIDXvFZwU

[Tim McMichael]

He carries the pole too far over to the right side of his body, and when he plants, both hands are outside the line of his right shoulder. If your whole body is on the left side of the pole at takeoff, and your right arm is angled out away from your shoulder, you are going hard right. Every time. To go down the middle, the top hand should be in line with the right collar bone, and the left hand should be roughly in line with the center of the body.

[altius]

But that does not look like a very big pad - I would have thought non regulation by modern standards - certainly by ours.