American pole vaulter and Olympic hopeful Cole Walsh chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about the camaraderie in the men’s pole vault.
“The men’s pole vault, especially in the U.S. is very competitive this year,” he said. “I can count about 10 men that have jumped 19 feet or over the last year or this year, and that brings a huge challenge. At the end of the day, it is us versus the bar.”
“There is a lot of preparation that goes into the pole vault, and there are a lot of travel situations and such so we have to rely on each other to even get to the competition,” he said.
“I am grateful to be in a sport where my competitors, most of them, are my friends too,” he admitted. “It’s a little bit different than most of the other events. I am really grateful to be a part of such a competitive field and be a part of a really cool group of guys too.”
“Sam Kendricks led that camaraderie,” he said. “He was mentioned as the nicest guy in track and field, and it is nice to have someone like him push myself and a lot of other competitors along. Without smart guys like him and kind people like that, Sam really helped inspire a lot of the younger guys to really push themselves. I am really grateful to be with this cool group of guys too.”
To learn more about American pole vaulter Cole Walsh, follow him on Instagram.
