http://thedaily.washington.edu/2008/5/1 ... top-world/
Pole-vaulting to the top of the world
By Honsen Lin
May 13, 2008
Photo by Courtesy of Paul Merca.
Alumnus Brad Walker vaults in Osaka, Japan for the 2007 World Championships.
How would you feel if you were the No. 1 globally ranked athlete in your sport?
Confident? Proud? A little cocky, even?
How about nonchalant?
Brad Walker, a University of Washington alumnus and former Husky pole-vaulter, listed his accomplishments as casually as if he were naming off his sports memorabilia.
Walker has been the gold medalist at the 2007 Outdoor Championships, gold medalist at the 2006 Indoor Championships and the No. 1 pole-vaulter in the world since 2007.
He talks about vaulting to the No. 1 spot in a matter-of-fact manner, much like a math professor teaching derivational calculus would.
“Once I started jumping professionally and started jumping overseas, I just had to continue to get better as an athlete and work my way to the top,â€
