DOHA, Qatar — Cole Walsh’s chance to qualify for the pole vault final at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships rested on one jump. He had missed his first two attempts on 18 feet, 8 ¼ inches and needed to clear the bar in order to earn three tries at the qualifying height.
Nick Hysong, his coach and the 2000 Olympics gold medalist, told Walsh to switch to his longest pole. This was the same pole he used to clear a personal-best of 19-1 ½ at Zurich in August.
“I was nervous I wasn’t going to execute correctly, but I knew if I did, everything would work,” said Walsh, a former University of Oregon athlete. “I was able to take a deep breath and relax for just a moment, focus on what I needed to do. And then bomb 5.70 [meters].”
He cleared 18-8 ¼ on his final attempt.
Walsh, who is making his world championship and U.S. team debut, proceeded to jump 18-10 ¼ on his first try and advance to the Tuesday’s final.
Heading into Saturday’s competition, he wanted to make every height on the first attempt. Like several other pole vaulters in his preliminary group, Walsh skipped 17-4 ½ and began at 17-10 ½. It took him two attempts to clear that bar, as well as two more attempts to clear the next at 18-4 ½.
Walsh made the necessary corrections to keep advancing despite falling short of his initial goal.
The 24-year-old has also been learning from some of the top competitors throughout this season.
“One thing I really cherish, or really value, is seeing 5.80 [meter] jumps in person all the time,” said Walsh. “It’s just great to watch my heroes in person.”
His goal for the final, where he’ll face the vaulters he looks up to, is to be consistent down the runway and again to make bars on the first attempt. During his two days of rest before the finals, Walsh plans on getting some massage therapy from a professional.
Looking further into the future, Walsh expressed excitement about his college town, Eugene, hosting the 2021 world championships.
“I’m going to have the home-field advantage,” he said. “Hopefully it’ll be raining. Hey, it’s no problem for a Duck.”
