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EL PASO, Texas – The University of Arizona track and field program had the majority of its athletes competing at the UTEP Invitational on Saturday with a handful of others competing at the Rafer Johnson /Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational in Los Angeles, Calif.

In El Paso, Gabriella Duclos broke the Canadian junior record in the pole vault with her personal best clearance of 4.15m. She won the competition, and this mark ranks No. 4 all time on the Arizona Top 10 list. Duclos cleared the bar on her third attempt despite vaulting into a headwind.

“I was just watching the flags to see where the wind was blowing, and I finally got a chance at 4.15m where the wind wasn’t so strong. I didn’t even look at the bar, I just closed my eyes when I was going over and just tried to focus on my technique,â€Â

Congrats Gabriella!

http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/ ... 3424.shtml

Duclos vaults to new record with eyes closed
By: Justin Adler

Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: Sports
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Rarely can an athlete say she broke a record and won a competition with her eyes closed. That was just the case for Gabriella Duclos when she won the pole vault at the UTEP Invitational on Saturday.

Duclos' new technique involves closing her eyes as she jumps, which she says allows her body to become more inverted and "shoot for the sky."

Duclos, a native of Quebec City, broke the Canadian junior record with her personal-best jump of 4.15 meters. The mark was the fourth highest by an Arizona woman pole vaulter.

"I was lucky to be the only competitor at the end," said Duclos, who had five minutes for every jump to deal with the rough winds. "I actually waited five minutes and missed an attempt just because of the wind."

In the men's pole vault, senior Jake Arnold recorded a season-best 5.20m for fifth place.

"Even when I'm tired I'm (clearing) 17 feet - which is a good thing," said Arnold, who added that an intense week of practice slowed him down on the field. "You can't stop your training to do well at every meet."