| | Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In front of a cheering, adoring crowd,
many of whom remembered her as a teenage goat-tying competitor in
local rodeos, Stacy Dragila broke the world record in the women's
pole vault.
|  | | Stacy Dragila celebrates after breaking her own pole vault world record on Sunday. |
Dragila, leading the first American contingent in the new
Olympic event, cleared 15 feet, 2¼ inches at the U.S. trials
Sunday, then missed three times at 15-5, a height she cleared while
warming up.
"It was definitely a dream come true to come home to Sacramento
and have my family and friends cheer me on to Sydney," said the
29-year-old former heptathlete who was persuaded by her coach at
Idaho State to try the pole vault.
In the years since then, the women's pole vault has quickly
captured the public's imagination, and Dragila is easily the
event's biggest draw.
Oozing with confidence, she repeated her desire to clear 16 feet
before the Sydney Games.
"I still have a lot to work on," she said. "I have over a
month to train for the games, and I think 16 feet is doable.
Fifteen-five was not that high for me today, and I think 16 feet is
right around the corner."
Now it's on to Europe to face those who will be her biggest
challengers in Sydney.
"To go over to Europe this next week and have three
competitions against my international competitors, that's what I'm
looking for," Dragila said. "I'm hungry to see them before we go
to Sydney, and I'm not afraid to go up against them. That's what
makes me tough. That's what's going to give me a good chance to win
the gold medal."
Dragila had set the previous record of 15-1¾ in Mesa, Ariz., on
May 1.
She won the inaugural world indoor championship in 1997 and the
first world's title last year.
Dragila knew that the stands near the pole vault pit would be
filled with people who knew her.
"I was nervous because I was here at home. When I got to the
field and did my warmups, I made 15-5, that's pretty danged
awesome," she said. "To stay composed through the competition was
all I wanted to do. And I did it and came up on top with the world
record," she said.
After soaring over the record height, Dragila had the bar raised
to 15-5, but she missed three times. Her best attempt was her
second, when the bar hung up momentarily after she cleared it, but
it fell when Dragila apparently nicked it on the way down.
"Why not?" she said when asked why she went for the world
record again after already setting it once. "It's good for my
confidence to go at it. I was out there for a long time. Those are
situations we're going to be at in Sydney. I want to know what it's
like to be out there for a long time and go after big jumps."
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