Shooting for the clouds

Stacy Dragila brings new zest for vaulting to the 2004 Trials

Stacy Dragila received the red-carpet treatment from Sacramento fans when she competed in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials. Dragila grew up in Auburn, a half-hour up the road, and she had competed in Hornet Stadium on numerous occasions as a high school athlete.

But it was the first time the former hurdler had been greeted with 46,000 clapping hands and her own raucous cheering section on the north end of the stadium. Dragila thanked the sellout crowd by setting a world record in women's pole vault, clearing 15.2.25 inches.

"Competing on my home court, so to speak, was an awesome experience," Dragila said. "Looking around and seeing all those 'Go Stacy' signs ... it was overwhelming. I lost it after I set the record, I was so happy."

Dragila was a trailblazer four years ago. In Sydney, Australia, she won the first gold medal awarded in the Olympic women's pole vault. The following year, she raised her world record all the way to 15-9.25 and claimed her second straight world outdoor title.

The next two seasons were substandard by Dragila's standards, but the personable 33-year-old is back on track again during an Olympic year. She matched her best-ever clearance of 15-9.25 in finishing second at the 2004 World Indoor Championships in Hungary and jumped 15-5 last weekend in El Paso, Texas. Saturday, she'll be shooting for the clouds in a meet traditionally conducive to big vault marks - the Modesto Relays.

"I feel like I'm rejuvenated," Dragila said. "Seventeen feet is still in the back of my mind. I really feel I can push toward that barrier."

Dragila will be an overwhelming favorite when the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials return to Sacramento in July. While qualifying for the Olympic team is usually the top priority at the Trials, she's setting her sights higher. That's how she approached the 2000 Trials, and she wound up breaking her own world record.

"I wanted to win with a big mark," she said. "My approach this year will be the same. Ensure the win and let people know that I'm not done."

She let the world know she's not done two months ago at the world indoor meet. Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva won with a world indoor record of 15-11.25, but Dragila was right behind in second place at 15.9.25. Russia's Svetlanta Feofanova, the world outdoor record holder at 15-11 and the world's top-ranked vaulter in 2002 and 2003, finished third at 15-5.

"It's fun to be in competitions like that," Dragila said. "I love the rivalry. We're very different. I'm outgoing, and (Isinbayeva) is very Russian-like, very serious. But I like it. It adds a little more fuel to the fire."

The women's pole vault final at the 2004 Olympic Trials will be held Sunday, July 18, the final day of competition in the eight-day event that determines the U.S. men's and women's teams for the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The world record might well be higher than 16 feet by the time July 18 rolls around, but Dragila sounds ready for the challenge.

"You get nervous, but you channel it in a positive way," Dragila said. "You're having too much to worry about the pressure."

Daily tickets go on sale - Single-day tickets for the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials go on sale May 15. Daily tickets are priced at $35, $25, $20 and $15. Call (916) 766-2277 or order online at www.tickets.com.

Track notes - The men's 10,000-meter run - the first final on the 2004 Olympic Trials schedule - figures to be one of the most competitive and entertaining events of the entire meet. At the Cardinal Invitational on April 30, five Americans ran faster than the Olympic 'A' qualifying standard of 27:49.00. Meb Keflezighi won in 27:24.10, the fourth-fastest U.S. time ever. Abdi Abdirahman was fourth in 27:34.24, and Bob Kennedy, a two-time Olympian in the 5,000, finished fifth in 27:37.45. Dathan Ritzenhein, a University of Colorado sophomore, was sixth in 27:38.50, the fastest time ever run by an American-born collegian. Dan Browne (27:42.19) also eclipsed the Olympic 'A' standard.

In the women's 10,000, Kate O'Neill finished second in 31:34.37, well under the Olympic 'A' standard of 31:45.00. Stanford's Alicia Craig set a collegiate record, finishing eighth in 32:19.97.

Stanford's Jill Camarena, a Woodland High School graduate, finished second in the shot put at 59-6.75, two feet beyond her previous best.

At the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif., John Godina showed he'll be a force in the Olympic Trials shot put by throwing 69-11.5. Godina is a three-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist in the event. Aretha Hill won the women's discus with a throw of 214-6, the fifth-best performance in U.S. history. Two-time Olympian Suzy Powell was second at 205-2.