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W] xօ5u s.|*<N- Rw}:wV!IbGhPjZ[K NUI_J67\ҏ%9|Hn*gK@:x).k]H?5 bʇ/c2Ļ0z=yJo798 IZk?lU`@S$`lJl4lĨ/n RYUC+ (Ͷ*Dr@!*@'9,,a1 @f;?y އ@5_ VdJClW'cA2ΡnFQG&ج]d|r2J5Q5نAIBؗbcv|VB 2o񨤽))H]k$FI;Vl=pGG3 #$&-ޟ -(9Yc|R5!\'tqئD>Tcqgjֶ^"$H݀@ܼN>rFL.Nђ~PV#M##3+g?֭5ZNQ#?Jr\,r(VB@8Vt;|}Ωb\#l{,>|u'G3SAu9?ƥIK{1(xR7$w؉A_4sFEy~}5Efʰr1GJF}B8e<,-gb.j8<8}EIE/K?Q@5?V? ( Ue\[ P\ED'QECQ(It}Q@!c ES*袀a [QE0iҡQ@ oD?~QE %[*?Q@Z_F(formed as safely as possible. It wasn t just,  grab this big ole stick, run down that track and hold on tight and see where you go! My coach gave me progressive drills. I stayed on the ground a lot, especially at the beginning. Then we progressed to  we re going to just plant it into the box, and stay on your feet and land in the pit. I never felt that I was totally out of control. <br>When she started to leave the ground, Dragila admits that she had some apprehension.  When I started to go upside down, that scared me. But then, luckily, my coach s wife owned a gymnastics gym about two blocks from our university. She had trampolines and high bars, and coaches who would teach her how to develop spatial awareness so that I wasn t flipping around like a fish out of water. Those coaches knew what they were doing, knew how to spot, and got me comfortable turning over in the air and teaching me how to land so that I wouldn t get injured. <br>The easygoing pole vault practices, however, soon lost their appeal.  We felt like we were never gaining any ground because we were always training for these other events, and we had to concentrate on these events because that s what our scholarship was for--not the pole vault. As such, her teammates eventually gave up on the experiment and concentrated on the scholarship events. But not Dragila.<br><br><br>High Expectations<br><br>Although she was putting in time with the pole vault, Dragila was still able to perform impressively in the heptathalon. By the time she finished her final year at Idaho State with a degree in physical education and health, she owned five school records and placed second in the 1995 Big Sky Championships. It was at this time that she was able to focus on serious training for the pole vault, and on Jan 13, 1996 in Pocatello, she set an indoor American record, 12 11 3/4 , her first of many to come. <br>The following year was the Olympics, and even though the women s pole vault was not yet approved as an Olympic event, Dragila was able to participate in the Trials on April 20 in Lawrence, Kansas. She really put on a show, setting an American record of 13 6 1/2 . Although she didn t get to compete in the Olympics, she did get to compete in the European circuit that summer. The following year she continued her steady progress and won the World Indoor Championships with a mark of 14 5 1/4 , a vault that tied the world record.<br>To fulfill her potential and achieve her goal of winning the Olympics, Dragila decided to stay in Pocatello to train under Nielsen and work towards a masters degree in health education at ISU. She also works as an assistant track coach, training the vaulters and heptathletes. Her husband, Brent, is also an ISU student, majored in criminal justice and sociology.<br>One of her major competitors is Emma George of Australia, a former circus acrobat, who is the current world record holder at 15 1 1/4 . With the Olympics being held in George s home country, Dragila knows she needs to work even harder to bring home the gold. To win it, she says it will probable take vaulting as high as 16 feet, which she thinks is definitely within her reach by then.<br><br> <br>Anything <br>You Can Do. . . .<br><br>Just as Dragila s vaulting ability has improved, so has the popularity of the event.  I had heard that high school girls were starting to do it in California, and a couple states were trying to push it. She also heard that many athletes were considering going to court about it because the schools thought they couldn t afford the sport and the injury factor was too high.  But the gals thought,  Hey the guys are doing it, why can t