AUSTIN, Texas “”mdash; Of all the people to throw superlatives in
Chelsea Johnson’s direction this season, one of the few pole
vaulters who has beaten the UCLA sophomore this year may have
summed up her accomplishments best.
“Nobody’s perfect,” Washington’s Kate
Soma said. “But, even on her bad days, Chelsea has been
better than everybody else.”
Johnson, the collegiate
record holder in the pole vault, wasn’t at her best once
again on Friday night. Yet on the sport’s biggest stage, in
front of some of the nation’s best young vaulters, she
outlasted them all.
The unflappable Johnson cleared the bar on her first attempt at
14-1 1/4, clinching her first national title when Soma’s
third bid at the same height went awry.
After a monthlong slump during which she no-heighted twice and
failed to clear 14 feet, taking first place was a milestone for
Johnson, regardless of her mark.
“It would have been nice to get the next couple
bars,” Johnson said, “but I’m just happy to be a
national champion.”
Back in April, when Johnson had ascended to heights of which
other collegians can only dream, a national title seemed virtually
inevitable. But a second-place finish behind Soma at Pac-10s and an
innocuous victory at the West Regionals last month left some people
thinking Johnson could be vulnerable at nationals.
Johnson ““ whose 15-foot clearance in mid-April was nearly
1 foot higher than any of the other competitors’ top marks
““ admits she has been frustrated lately but said she never
lost faith in herself.
“It’s a part of the sport,” Johnson said.
“You struggle, but the true athletes that are going to
achieve great things are the ones that come back from those
struggles.”
That’s exactly what Johnson did Friday.
After passing at the first three heights, she entered the
competition at 13-5 1/4, clearing it with ease on her first
attempt.
A subsequent first-attempt clearance at 13-9 1/4 was an ominous
sign for the rest of the field, all of which but Soma,
Nebraska’s Jenny Green and Akron’s Kira Sims failed to
surpass.
On her final clearance Johnson soared over the bar at 14-1 1/4
then retreated to the solitude of the runway to watch the rest of
the round unfold.
A quick embrace with Soma signaled the end of the competition
and 10 valuable points for the Bruins, who also secured four more
points thanks to sophomore Jacqi Nguyen’s unexpected
fifth-place finish.
“I was dreaming about this all week,” UCLA pole
vaulting coach Anthony Curran said. “Chelsea told me she was
she was ready to go, and Jacqi’s been a stud all week in
practice. It was a great meet for us.”
Johnson, who jumped 14-8 in practice this past week, took three
decent attempts at 14-6 but came up short on each of them.
More important than Johnson’s 15-foot clearances or
personal records this week was proving to the track world that she
could perform up to her capabilities at a national-caliber
meet.
Despite failing to clear a single bar at the NCAAs last season
in Sacramento and taking a disappointing second place finish at
Indoor Nationals earlier this year, Johnson still entered the meet
as the unquestioned favorite.
That left her hungry to avenge those setbacks Friday and
solidify her spot at the head of the collegiate ranks.
“Getting beat indoors was devastating for her,”
Curran said. “She knew that she was the best person out
there, and she didn’t do what she needed to do.”
“Today she showed everyone that she’s still No. 1,
and that she should be winning these meets.”
Friday’s performance puts Johnson in a good position to
vie against other top Americans at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
One of just four Americans to clear 15 feet during her career,
Johnson will nonetheless be an underdog as she attempts to secure
one of only three spots on the U.S. team next month.
She has competed against the likes of contenders Mary Sauer,
Becky Holliday and Tracy O’Hara throughout her career at UCLA
and is looking forward to squaring off with them once more in
July.
“This whole season has been a learning experience for
me,” Johnson said. “I’m going to enjoy being
champion, take a couple weeks off, and then focus on the
Trials.”