USATF flashback: Strategic vaults paid off for University High grad Brad Walker in the 2006 championships

Strategic vaults paid off for University High grad Brad Walker in the 2006 championships

The 115th edition of what’s now called the USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships comes to Spokane’s new Podium facility Saturday and Sunday. This week, we’ll make take a brief tour through the storied event’s history.

University High School grad Brad Walker arrived in Boston in 2006 as the defending champ – and reigning world No. 1 – in the pole vault. That didn’t necessarily make him the overwhelming favorite: 2004 Olympic gold and silver medalists Tim Mack and Toby Stevenson, respectively, were also in the field, along with American record holder Jeff Hartwig.

But some strategic jumping at different heights than his rivals paid off when Walker cleared 18 feet, 10¼ inches, then passed as Hartwig missed three times at 19-¼.

It was the springboard to winning the world indoor title in Moscow – not the one down the road – two weeks later, and his first 6-meter (19-8¼) clearance in July.

“Every country has guys who jump high,” Walker said in Boston. “But the U.S. has more in the top 20 than any other country, so that’s to our advantage, having that competition.”