(Photo by Jason Chiou)
Southern vaults to goldOther athletes in finals Wednesdayby Joshua Weinstock and Leila Hanaumi on September 9, 2009 Patrick Southern successfully defended his gold medal in the pole vault with a Games-record vault and handed the U.S. Athletics team its second gold of the Games on Tuesday at Taipei Stadium. Southern was guaranteed the gold with a vault of 4.6 meters. However, he wasn't done yet. The Deaflympic record of 4.78 meters was in his sights. He failed to cross the bar the first two of his three attempts. Before his third and final try, Southern clapped and gestured to the crowd to join him, and the rhythmic clapping gave Southern the boost he needed to gain the world record of 4.8 meters. "I just wanted the crowd to see a record broken." Southern said. "I'm really thankful for their spirit — it really supported me a lot, and I was glad to give the show." Southern tried to give it another try and extend his mark to five meters, but almost three hours of competition in the pole vault took its toll mentally and physically, and he finished with an official 4.8 meters. "It felt really good to have that ‘power in me' that enabled me to get the record," Southern said. "The crowd was really great; it didn't really matter who was from which country, they just came to see an athlete doing an athletic feat." Head Coach Thomas Withrow said he was impressed by Southern's performance tonight, considering his rushed preparation for the Games. "Patrick was only confirmed to play in this Deaflympics as a player/coach last May. After only months of practice, Southern has shown why he's the record holder," Withrow said. Southern, winner of the pole vault gold in the 2005 Melbourne Games with a mark of 4.3 meters, beat out crowd favorite Taiwanese Ching Lung An (4.55m) and German Markus Bednarek (4.50m). Southern was not the only American pole vaulter competing. Tom Guidon placed fifth with a mark of 4.15 meters in his first Deaflympics. Withrow said Guidon "certainly has the potential. But the world continues to raise the bar, so we'll see what happens at the next Deaflympics as he continues to train with Southern." "It felt great to get my second gold," Southern said. "But the better feeling was the decision to come back so I can help the younger players on the team develop and reach their potential. I want to help Tom get better in the future." When asked if he would consider returning for the 2013 Athens Games, Southern said with a smile, "We'll see." The meet wasn't without its mishaps for the Americans. During one of Guidon's vaults, the pole snapped in three parts. "Where's the mat?" was Guidon's first thought, he said, when the butt plug of the pole bottom gave away under the pressure of Guidon's weight. "It was pretty funny actually," he said. "Patrick was telling me about how his pole broke twice in the past, and I thought it would never happen to me." It did happen, and on an international stage. "At least I'll be on TV," Guidon said with a chuckle. When the pole broke, the bottom flew several hundred feet and ended up in the hands of gold-medal cyclist Paul Wood. Guidon told Wood to keep it as a souvenir. The rest of the U.S. Athletics Team's night did not go as well. The American sprinters' dreams of donning the gold medal suddenly faded into black after only 10.64 seconds. Sprinters Josh Hembrough and Delvin Furlough, both who had high aspirations to place in the men's 100-meter final Tuesday evening came in seventh and eighth with a time of 11.03 and 11.19, respectively. Maris Grenins, of Latvia, won the gold medal after running a 10.64 sprint. Humphery Eguasa of Nigeria (10.80) and Lazcano Abad of Cuba (10.91) stood on either side of Grenins at the podium. Grenins had a powerful run and broke away from the pack at the start. He didn't display the same burst at the end, narrowly missing the Games record mark of 10.61, set by American Wendell Gaskin Jr. in 1997. Cuba's Rivero Girat's 12.16 in the women's 100m sprint was good enough to earn her a gold medal. She also narrowly missed the Games record mark set at 12.04 by American Sherrie Jackson in 1985. The U.S. women sprinters failed to qualify for the finals and had no runners in the women's 100-meter finals. However, all is not lost for Furlough. In the morning, Furlough once again placed second overall — first in his heat — in the 400m with a time of 48.96. Edging him for the second time was Sergiy Mazuro, of Ukraine. The men's 400m finals take place Wednesday evening. "I spent all of my energy on the 400m this morning, but that's ok — it's what is important to me," Furlough said. Hembrough still has the event he excels in, the 110m hurdles, Friday, and he will have an opportunity to obliterate the world record. Riki De La Puente, the only female thrower on the U.S. Athletics team, participated in her solo event, the shot put. The 19-year-old threw 10.35 meters, 9.99 meters and 10.54 meters in her first Deaflympics. Unfortunately, she was not able to mirror her U.S. male counterpart's triumph in the shot put as she finished 10th out of 11 throwers, missing the top eight by 1.15 meters. "I came here to have fun and gain experience, and I did just that. But watch out, I'm coming back for the 2013 Deaflympics in Greece, bigger and stronger than ever," De La Puente said. Chunxia Ren, of China, already had the lead for gold with her first throw of 13.94, and she extended her score to 14.35 on her final throw to ensure victory against Slovakian thrower Ivana Kristoficova, who had a mark of 13.71. Wednesday, the team will eye gold for the third straight day in the following finals: men's hammer throw, as Lopez goes for his second gold of the Deaflympics; men's 400m, in which Furlough will try to redeem himself; the women's 400m hurdles, featuring Amber Nash and Mariah Ransom; and the men's long jump, in which Terrell Sumers will compete. |
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