Olympic Wife, Olympic Life

Apparently the idea that things would slow down momentarily after the Olympic Trials was not only wrong, it seems downright laughable.  I wrote earlier about the "goings on" (as we say in the south) immediately after the Trials, but we have not lost momentum.  This is what has been going on lately.

Jeremy was in San Diego at the Olympic Training Center to work with a doctor and physical therapist to continue improving his strength in his "bad" knee. He was in San Diego for about three weeks,  returning home Tuesday morning (about 2am) where he made a quick turn around to be at the local radio station to do three back-to-back radio interviews from 7-8am, the same morning.  Jeremy's parents were in town and we all sat in their mini-van in our pj's drinking coffee listening to the interviews.  (No, I do not have a radio in the house.)

The time since the Trials has been a whirlwind experience.  Sadly, in the days after the Trials, one of Jeremy's uncles passed away.  Due to Jeremy's training schedules we were unable to attend the funeral.  But I know that his uncle was always supportive of Jeremy's Olympic dreams and will be watching over him, helping pull him up to new heights!

Jeremy and I were also asked to be Godparents to our new nephew, Isaac Henry Smith.  Isaac was born on June 19th to Jeremy's youngest sister, Diana and her husband, Chris.  We are honored!

Isaac Henry, seen here wearing his El Grande wristband!

 Our church, First United Methodist of Jonesboro, AR honored Jeremy with a special reception Tuesday night (July 24th).  The church looked amazing with flags and artwork decorating the entire Fellowship Hall!  What an amazing support system we have here in Jonesboro! The Jonesboro Sun and our local news station, KAIT were both in attendance to capture the events.

FUMC Reception

Today, BBC--that's right--the British Broadcasting Corporation, came to our house(!) to interview Jeremy.  I got to be there to watch the interview and am very excited to see it air (speculating sometime next weekend).  Immediately after the BBC interview Jeremy had another interview set up at Bell Athletics with the Jonesboro Sun.

And me?  What have I been doing?  I have been working (as I am teaching this summer), shipping t-shirts and wristbands to the many individuals who have been gracious enough to support us, frantically cleaning for aforementioned BBC interview and trying to prepare (mentally and logistically) for London.

I realized that sometimes I let my to-do list overwhelm me.  Sometimes I drive Jeremy (as well as myself) crazy with worry.  But a wise woman (I call her mom) keeps reminding me that I need to take a moment and embrace this experience.  This is an AMAZING time--- I am trying to remember that always!

Jeremy will be leaving the first of next week for London, electing not to participate in the opening ceremony in favor of continuing to train.  Preliminary round of the Men's Pole Vault will be at 10am, Wednesday, August 8th--approximately 4am central time.  



If you have missed some of the Jeremy Scott (El Grande) press, here are some links to some of the coverage.  If you are my friend on Facebook, however, you have seen this all!

Arkansas Methodist Magazine

Radio Interview for 103.9 The Game

Article written by my mother about Jeremy and our family for the Salisbury Post

Guest Blog I wrote for East9thStreet on the truth about Olympic athletes

Omaha, NE Newspaper Article about the Trials

Press Conference from the Trials

Jeremy's hometown paper, Norfolk Daily News, after the Trials


It is not too late to order your El Grande t-shirts or wristbands!  Order now and receive them before Grande competes on August 8th!






El Grande Wristbands

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*** We are COMPLETELY SOLD OUT of El Grande T-shirts!!!***

They're here!  We are currently pre-selling t-shirts for Jeremy Scott, World's Tallest Pole Vaulter (nicknamed El Grande).  They are currently being printed and will be delivered to you before El Grande is scheduled to compete on August 8th, 2012 in the London Olympics.

Support Team USA!  Support El Grande!  All money raised will be used for coaching, training and medical costs.

The shirts will come in Men's sizes, S, M, L, XL.  The shirts are an ash gray color with this image on the front. (Graphic courtesy of James Mullen Design.)  Price is $20 a shirt + $5 shipping. 

Local pick-up is available in Jonesboro, AR at Bell Athletics.  No shipping fee for local pickup.  

We are also selling  El Grande Wristbands.  These are the popular lazer-cut silicone bands.  Here is the image for the El Grande Wristbands.  They are red and blue to support Team USA!  They also come in various sizes, S, M, L.  They are $5 + shipping (no shipping fee for local pickup!).  See below for Wristband size information. 

Wristband Connection Size Chart Information

To purchase a t-shirt or Wristband, use the "Buy Now" buttons on the right hand side of the screen.  All purchases will be secure using PayPal.


Thanks for your support!

Questions?  Let me know and I will be happy to answer any questions you might have!

Update:  I had several people ask if they can make donations in support of Jeremy.  I have added a "donate" button on the right hand side of the screen.  Please put your address in the "notes to seller" section if you choose this option.  Thank you!

El Grande Olympic Wristbands Sizes     Small    Large

Pole Vault Basics

Ok, so in hindsight maybe I should have begun with a blog about pole vault itself rather than the trials.  Many of you have had questions about the actual sport and rules of pole vaulting.  I am going to give you the BASICS--as that is all I know!  Ha!  I am not a pole vaulter and have never attempted the sport.  But, I am married to one [vaulter, that is] and have learned a thing or two in my years of attending track meets.

This is my attempt at explaining this to "normal" folk--meaning all of us people who have jobs and lives that do not involve running around in circles or wearing spandex. 

Basic definition-- "The pole vault is a track and field event where the participant runs with a long pole for a short distance, then plants the pole in the ground and uses it as a lever to propel himself into the air and over a bar. Pole vaulting has a high degree of difficulty, and takes quite a lot of time to learn. Executing successful jumps includes many basic elements that all have to be working together at the same time."

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/184035-pole-vaulting-basics/#ixzz20FAXHgKq

Basic terms:

The pole vaulter is the athlete.  The pole vaulter carries a pole and runs down a runway.  They plant their pole in a box (white box in front of the pit), to jump over the crossbar that is held up by the standards (the vertical poles that hold the bar up) that are either side of the pit (the foam mat that the vaulters land upon).  

Pic from EverythingTrackandField.com

The goal is to pole vault over the bar and have the bar stay!  If the bar falls, it is called a miss.  If it stays it is called a make.  You get three misses before you are "out" (if it helps to think of baseball terminology).  Similar to a baseball player who gets two strikes and then hits a homerun, the next time "at bat" he/she begins fresh--without any strikes.  A pole vaulter can miss once or twice and then make a bar, and the tally starts fresh.  But once they have three consecutive misses, they are done. 

On result list, a make is represented by an "o" and a miss is an "x."   

Ok, got all that!  Good...moving on.  

Most meets would not have a preliminary round and a final round, but major events like the Olympic Trials and, of course, the Olympics, will have two rounds.  The result sheet for the Olympic Trials preliminary round looks like this. 

Results from Tracktown 12.

There are 24 names on this list.  The goal of prelims is to get a smaller group of athletes to the final round.  Here they were aiming for about ten to move on to the final round.  In prelims you don't compete for a winner, just to narrow the field, so there is no 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.  

A prelim round will begin with an opening height.  This meet was 17' 4 1/2".  All athletes get a chance to make this bar.  Those who do not make the opening height appear with an NH beside their name--this means no height (they failed to clear a bar). Once that height is complete the officials will evaluate how many athletes are left and whether or not they need to move to the next height to continue narrowing down the field.  In this example 12 athletes were left after the opening height.  That is a good number to move forward to finals, but....

You will notice there are several athletes would have "PASS" beside their name.  An athlete can pass a height at any time.  This is done for a variety of reasons, which I won't get into now, but it basically means they skip that height.  If every athlete left in the top 12 had jumped and cleared 17' 4 1/2" would have jumped and made the opening height there would be no need for the next height.  However, you can't move forward to finals without making a height, so those athletes who passed the opening height needed to clear the second bar in order to advance.  Of the 5 that passed the first height, four cleared the bar at 17' 8 1/2" which means 11 athletes will advance to the finals. 

Now, finals are where vaulters are jumping to win.  The result sheet for the trials looked like this...

Results from Tracktown12.

You see our 11 athletes left from prelims are now listed on our start list for the final round.  Again, "o" is a make and the athlete would advance to the next height.  An "x" is a miss and three in a row means you are done for the day.  You see two athletes have NH for no height.  

The pole vaulter who jumps the highest without three misses in a row is the winner.  If more than one vaulter goes out (meaning fails to clear that particular height) on the same height, then the winner is the vaulter with less (total) misses. 

I would say "normally" at an Olympic Trials meet the top three finishers would be the athletes to represent their country in the Olympics.  The interesting thing about this year's results is that the third place finisher failed to jump the Olympic A standard this year which means the 4th place finisher will go to the Olympics. Ok, what did I just say?

The Olympics have an A and B standard, which the minimum expectations they set for every event.  In this case, the A-standard for pole vault is 18' 7 1/4".  Five pole vaulters had met the A-standard prior to the Olympic Trials, but in order to go to the Olympics for the USA you have to have the A-standard and finish in the top 3 at the trials.  Athletes have until the end of their event at the Olympic Trials to meet that standard.  In this case, the 3rd place finisher failed to meet that standard this year.  He had met the B-standard, however.  So.....if he had placed 3rd and there were no other athletes would had already met the A-standard, he would be going to the Olympics.  However, in this case, Derek Miles who placed 4th had already met the A-standard and will, therefore, be part of the Olympic Team (his third, might I add!).  

Apparently it helps if you make this face while vaulting :)

So, the 2012 Men's Pole Vault Olympic Trials top three finishers were Walker, Je. Scott and Roth.  However, the Men's Pole Vault Olympic Team will consist of Walker, Je. Scott and Miles.  

Clear as mud? 

Post Olympic Trials

On June 28th, 2012 I got to watch my husband pole vault, in the rain, onto the USA Track and Field Olympic Team!  It was one of the coolest experiences of my life!  To see Jeremy on the medal stand, wearing the new Olympic uniform, was very special.  In the aftermath of the trials there is, well, CHAOS!  Lots of friends and family have been asking us questions, so I thought I would answer some of the more common questions here.

My Olympic Trials Feet!

Do family members get to go to the Olympics for free?

 No!  An Olympian gets two free tickets to their particular events.  All other tickets must be purchased.  Tickets have been sold out for months, so to obtain tickets you must go through a broker (such as an "official" ticketing agency or travel agency that bought tickets in bulk).  Tickets range (from what I have seen) from $100-$1,500.  Most of the tickets available at this late date are definitely in the higher price range.
Friends and family attending the Olympics must also purchase airfare, ground transportation (to and from airport and around London) and hotel accommodations.  Hotels close to the Olympic venues are about $500 a night and airfare depends on your city or origin and carrier.
The athlete is required to stay in the Olympic Village.  No friends or family may stay with the athlete.  Security to get in the Village is very strict and very few guests are allowed.

Does a coach get to go to the Olympics for free?

It depends.  An athlete gets two free tickets, so if the athlete chooses to use this for a coach, then the coach gets in free.  If the athlete uses those tickets for others then the coach does not have a ticket and must purchase one like everyone else.  Airfare and accommodations must also be arranged.
Once a coach has a ticket into the event, they may sit in the Coach's Box, but they must first have a ticket to the event.  To get credentials to sit in the Coach's Box the coach must have cleared security and background checks since they will have access to the athletes.

Cam's Artwork

What happens next?  [meaning immediately after the Olympic Trials]

An athlete, immediately after knowing they placed in a position that makes them eligible for the Olympic team (meaning immediately after competition) will be interviewed and drug tested. [You can watch part of Jeremy's press conference, here.]  In the days following they will go through "Olympic orientation" (my term).  This involves meetings where athletes are given basic information from the Olympic committee, as well as information on what to expect when arriving in London and throughout the Olympic experience. Athletes also get measured for their uniform for the Opening Ceremony, as well as competition uniforms.

For the wife or loved one of an athlete, the few days following the trials are spent being travel agent and public relations specialist.  Coordinating 5 different families schedules, preferences and budgets to find airline tickets, hotel accommodations and event tickets is no easy task!

How am I feeling?

I feel like I made the Olympic team!  I can't quite describe it, so this is my best analogy.  I compare Jeremy making the Olympic team to me giving birth (I have yet to come up with a better analogy, so just stick with me).  I endured hours of labor and physical pain, not to mention 10 months of pregnancy (Cam was a few weeks late), to give birth to our son, Cameron, who is the light of my life.  Jeremy was with me every moment of labor, so supportive and encouraging--he was always by my side!  I couldn't have done it without him (let's face it, it took two people to get in the situation to begin with), but he didn't physically do the work of child birth.  That's how I feel about this experience.  I haven't done the physical work, but I have been with him through this process.  I feel so proud and honored to be part of this experience with him.

How is Jeremy's family feeling?

I can't speak for everyone else (even though I am going to), but his parents and sisters (and their husbands and children and in-laws) are all beyond excited.  I don't even have the exact words for it (again, I am speaking for me, but I would assume they would agree with me), because it's this sense of amazement, excitement and pride.  It's the understanding that this moment is the opportunity to actually see a dream become a reality and that's an amazing thing to witness.  But it's also knowing that every single person who has encouraged, prayed for, supported, coached, mentored, or befriended Jeremy has a part in that dream.  Jeremy is an amazingly talented athlete, but no athlete gets to this place alone--it does, in fact, take a village to get an athlete to the Olympic Village.

So proud of his daddy!

What do I want to say to everyone (ok, no one has asked this, but I want to tell you)?

Thank you!  I have been blown away by all of the encouraging and congratulatory messages, phone calls, emails, etc...  It is amazing to see how many people love and care for, not only Jeremy, but our entire family.  We are so blessed to have such a community of support!  I can't wait to share this experience with every one of you! 

Jeremy's approval of the Olympic Trials Feet

* If you want to follow Jeremy on Twitter to get more timely updates, use @elgrandeusa