Pole vaulting coach Anthony Curran saw signs that Saturday would
be a great day for sophomore Yoo Kim even before the first vaulter
took flight.
“When Yoo came out today, he said to me he was a little
giggly,” Curran said. “And I knew, because that’s
how I had been like before a meet when I knew I was going to jump
well. It was that giggly confidence.”
Curran’s premonitions were right on.
Kim won the pole vault with a personal record mark of 18 feet,
0.5 inches at the UCLA Invitational. The vault made him only the
fifth Bruin to break the 18-foot barrier and moved him into a tie
for fourth in UCLA’s all-time record books.
“I feel great right now, because it was a childhood
dream,” Yoo said. “Breaking 18 feet has been my
lifetime goal since I started vaulting at age 13. It was all
I’ve ever wanted to jump because it always seemed so huge.
But now that I’ve done it, I feel that I’ve just
scratched the surface.”
Kim has now established himself as a candidate to make the
Korean National team and compete in the Olympics in 2004. With
this vault, Kim has positioned himself as the No. 2 vaulter in
Korean history.
This is the second personal record for Kim this season; he
vaulted 17-9 at the last home meet on April 5. With this recent
improvement ““ especially at Drake Stadium ““ Kim has
outstretched his best jump of last season by eight inches.
“It feels like Drake Stadium is my place to be this
season,” Kim said. “I always had a jinx with this
place and never jumped well here before. But this year has been the
opposite. I think it just happens to fall not on necessarily the
place ““ because anywhere I go I think I can jump well ““
but it seems to fall on the right time.”
Curran attributes his growth to a growing comfort with the
college setting.
“I think it’s important when you’re at a
university to feel confident and start feeling like it’s your
school,” Curran said. “That’s what has turned his
mind around.”
Kim, on the other hand, gives full credit to his coach, whom
he’s felt has been the biggest inspiration and influence to
his success this year. But while he draws motivation from Curran,
Kim’s teammates describe the influence he’s had on
them.
“Yoo’s awesome because he’s such an animated
person,” junior and fellow pole vaulter Pat Luke said,
“He is always so fired up so it’s just really fun to be
around. His energy gets us pumped up.”
While Kim may have broken records with his vault, men’s
track and field coach Art Venegas feels the most significant aspect
of the accomplishment is that it puts Kim on track to becoming an
elite pole vaulter.
“It was really a critical clearance for him because 18
feet is a height that is always going to be in his path,”
Venegas said. “It’s very tough to have to do well and
get a lifetime best at the same time. Now when he has to hit the
mark he doesn’t have to get it for the first time.”
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Jumper Ryan Hollins also reached a major milestone Saturday by
breaking the seven-foot barrier in the high jump. His winning jump
of 7-0.25 was another personal record for the rapidly improving
freshman.
“He’s getting very comfortable with the approach and
the things we’ve changed,” jumps coach Monte Rucker
said. “In just over a month he’s had seven personal
records and that doesn’t normally happen within only a three
to four week period.”