Unread postby KirkB » Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:44 am
Comparison of Isaakson and Duplantis
According to “Who’s Who in Pole Vaulting III”, Dan Baird is an Australian that won the 1977 NCAA Indoor for Long Beach State, so I guess that accounts for his presence in California. It has him at 1.70m 72Kg (5-7 159 lbs), which is half an inch shorter and 9 lbs heavier than Isaakson. There’s a strong possibility that WWPV3 is slightly off, as it has Duplantis at 1.70m 61Kgs (5-7 134), but we know from Duplantis himself that he was 5-6. If you believe WWPV3, all 3 of them were within a half inch of each other, but their weight varied quite widely – from 134 to 159 lbs. We could settle this debate by simply agreeing that they were all short, but had distinctly difference physiques.
I’d like to briefly compare my vaulting technique to Kjell Isaakson’s, then later to Greg’s. I can’t find any vids of Isaakson, so I’ll just go by memory …
Kjell was a former gymnast that turned to pole vaulting. He was also a very good high jumper – for his height. He jumped 6’6”, and (according to WWPV3), he’s 1.74m and 68kg. That’s 5-7 ½ and 150 lbs. He looked “wiry” – not muscular. More like a highbar specialist than a rings specialist, although I have no idea what his best gymnastic events were. But I would guess highbar.
There’s a few things that I remember about Kjell, from the few times I saw him vault in person in 1971-72.
One was that he was very fast down the runway. Not as fast as Greg, I don’t think, but fast in comparison to almost everyone else back in the early ‘70s.
Another was that he had a very early plant and jumped hard on his takeoff. Back then, we never used the term “free takeoff”, but I’m pretty sure that Kjell’s takeoff would classify as “free”. I wish I could look at vids to check this, but I don’t see how he could jump off the ground so well if the pole hit the box before he jumped. Back then, we didn’t make a big deal about “free takeoff” – it was just what everyone strived to do, at least in my circle of vaulting buddies in the Pac-8 and NCAA meets, and from the film we saw of the UCLA vaulters of the late 1960s.
Kjell immediately swung after the pole hit the box. He didn’t have a noticeable “C” position, or any delay whatsoever before he swung. And he swung from the top hand – he didn’t hinge from the hips. Back then, I didn’t consider that very good technique, but I’m more tolerant of alternate techniques today. For him, with his short legs and arms, he could swing to an invert very, very quickly with a fairly straight body – not too unlike the way short gymnasts can execute highbar or rings moves better/quicker than taller gymnasts. I think Agapit would like Kjell’s technique a lot – it follows his 6.40 model much closer than any other vaulter that I’m aware of. Even closer than Bubka! Bubka bent at the hips more than Isaakson.
A final comment that I have about Kjell’s technique was that he didn’t have any passive parts to it. It was truly a “continuous chain” - a harmonious motion – from plant/takeoff thru to a really, really good handstand. He gripped about 15-6 – which was really high for anyone back then, let alone a shorty – and he had a quick bend. Not at all like the slow bend of mine. If he gripped 15-6 on his 18-9 practice vault, that would be a 47 inch handstand!!!
It’s hard to really criticize Kjell’s technique compared to mine, when he was so much different and more successful, but let’s just say that I didn’t have his wheels, nor the shorter arms and legs of a gymnast (for quicker rotation about the top hand fulcrum), so I had to find other ways to go higher.
My choice was to add more energy to the pole by my Whip and Invert vault parts, whereas Kjell – after an excellent jump off the ground – got his rotatioinal speed as soon as the pole hit the box, and then swung upside down in one continuous chain, carrying that thru to his excellent handstand.
Yep, he was quite the vaulter, with a unique technique that seemed to be custom-made for his unique physique!
In my next post, I’ll compare Duplantis to myself and Isaakson …
Kirk
Last edited by
KirkB on Fri Sep 26, 2008 12:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
Run. Plant. Jump. Stretch. Whip. Extend. Fly. Clear. There is no tuck! THERE IS NO DELAY!
