Did a vaulter miss the pit during the olympics?

[Robert schmitt]

Did anyone happen to catch the vaulter miss or nearly miss the mat to the right during the nbc coverage of the women 400m relay heat the us women ran in? It looked like it could have been potentially scarry situation.

[rainbowgirl28]

Gerasimov missed the pit. It's been mentioned in a few of the articles. I found a description of it here:

http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20040 ... -7356r.htm

Your Correspondent didn't think he would see a harder wipeout than the poor British gymnast who fell chest-first onto the balance beam. How wrong YC was. During last night's pole vault final, Russia's Pavel Gerasimov went up and over the bar â€â€

[rainbowgirl28]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... 8G3GE1.DTL

Stevenson has taken some grief over the years for wearing a protective roller hockey helmet -- at his parents' urging -- but the reason he does so was confirmed in this competition. At an earlier height, Pavel Gerasimov of Russia sailed wide right and missed the pit entirely, landing in a frightening heap on terra firma. He was shaken up but walked away from what could have been serious injury.

"Somebody actually missed the net (pit) and put him out of the competition; i.e., that's why I wear the helmet,'' Stevenson said.

[Robert schmitt]

It looked exactly like how I broke my back. I was freaking out b/c it looked BAD in the spilt second I saw it, but no one else saw it because they were looking at the runners.

[Beam]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/08/28/SPGSF8G3GE1.DTL

Stevenson has taken some grief over the years for wearing a protective roller hockey helmet -- at his parents' urging -- but the reason he does so was confirmed in this competition. At an earlier height, Pavel Gerasimov of Russia sailed wide right and missed the pit entirely, landing in a frightening heap on terra firma. He was shaken up but walked away from what could have been serious injury.

"Somebody actually missed the net (pit) and put him out of the competition; i.e., that's why I wear the helmet,'' Stevenson said.

Toby is a great guy. I respect that he wears a helmet despite what other people may think. But I think that his helmet took away from some of the better parts of the competition. Half the time the media spent covering the vault was to discuss a helmet, or call Toby "Crash" several times. It's unfortunate that people outside of the pole vault world, especially the media, play such a huge part in presenting it to average people. People need to have a choice regarding what they want to wear on their heads. I've never jumped with a helmet and have suffered no head injuries. I think the media is going to use the helmet to suggest to the average person that pole vaulting is a "crazy, dangerous, sport" where people crack their heads open. I've never met a single person that has had a head injury in the vault. . .not one! And the gentleman that landed off the pit, walked away from it. . . no head injury. So should he start wearing a helmet because he might have a "slight" chance of cracking his head open? OR land on the pit? It's funny to me that the media fails to interview any other vaulters about wearing a helmet. I didn't see any other jumpers in the competition with a helmet on, and none of them were interviewed. Tim Mack won the competition and barely got to speak because everyone was so interested in the dangerous aspects of what we do. "Pole vaulting isn't dangerous" is what needs to come across to people. Quit being afraid to live your life! Head injuries occur, not because pole vaulting is dangerous, but because it's part of life. I do know of one specific situation where a gentleman tripped and fell off a curb in my hometown and broke his neck. It was an accident in life that can happen to anyone, but no one started saying that "walking is dangerous." Nor was there anyone suggesting that we should wear back braces, knee braces, neck braces, and helmets to go out into the world because there is a slight chance that an accident may occur. Beam

[Lord of the Poles]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/08/28/SPGSF8G3GE1.DTL

Stevenson has taken some grief over the years for wearing a protective roller hockey helmet -- at his parents' urging -- but the reason he does so was confirmed in this competition. At an earlier height, Pavel Gerasimov of Russia sailed wide right and missed the pit entirely, landing in a frightening heap on terra firma. He was shaken up but walked away from what could have been serious injury.

"Somebody actually missed the net (pit) and put him out of the competition; i.e., that's why I wear the helmet,'' Stevenson said.

Toby is a great guy. I respect that he wears a helmet despite what other people may think. But I think that his helmet took away from some of the better parts of the competition. Half the time the media spent covering the vault was to discuss a helmet, or call Toby "Crash" several times. It's unfortunate that people outside of the pole vault world, especially the media, play such a huge part in presenting it to average people. People need to have a choice regarding what they want to wear on their heads. I've never jumped with a helmet and have suffered no head injuries. I think the media is going to use the helmet to suggest to the average person that pole vaulting is a "crazy, dangerous, sport" where people crack their heads open. I've never met a single person that has had a head injury in the vault. . .not one! And the gentleman that landed off the pit, walked away from it. . . no head injury. So should he start wearing a helmet because he might have a "slight" chance of cracking his head open? OR land on the pit? It's funny to me that the media fails to interview any other vaulters about wearing a helmet. I didn't see any other jumpers in the competition with a helmet on, and none of them were interviewed. Tim Mack won the competition and barely got to speak because everyone was so interested in the dangerous aspects of what we do. "Pole vaulting isn't dangerous" is what needs to come across to people. Quit being afraid to live your life! Head injuries occur, not because pole vaulting is dangerous, but because it's part of life. I do know of one specific situation where a gentleman tripped and fell off a curb in my hometown and broke his neck. It was an accident in life that can happen to anyone, but no one started saying that "walking is dangerous." Nor was there anyone suggesting that we should wear back braces, knee braces, neck braces, and helmets to go out into the world because there is a slight chance that an accident may occur. Beam

I'm with Beam.

[Bruce Caldwell]

What was a storage bin doing that close to the pole vault pit?
Everyone knows you do not place hurdles, rakes, and storage bins near the PV and HJ pits? Especially in a World Class event!!!

[rainbowgirl28]

Toby and Derek say he fractured 4 vertebrae in the accident.

[Scott Go Pre]

Toby and Derek say he fractured 4 vertebrae in the accident.

That has to suck. But this shows that not everyone is invincible!