Olympic gold medalist Dragila soon to vault into motherhood
One of the most highly-accomplished female athletes in U.S. history, Stacy Dragila, who is recognized as the leading contributor to the amazing worldwide growth and popularity of women's pole vaulting, is expecting to give birth to her first child, a girl, this spring.
Dragila, who married two-time Olympian and three-time USA men's discus throw champion Ian Waltz on December 12, 2009 in San Diego, Calif., began her athletic career in rodeo and gymnastics and later discovered track and field. She first excelled in the heptathlon before finding her niche with the women's pole vault.
Dragila made history in becoming the first woman ever to win pole vault gold medals in the Olympic Games (2000), World Outdoor Championships (1999 & 2001) and at the World Indoor Championships (1997).
Not long ago when Dragila began her career in women's pole vaulting the event was looked upon as an athletic curiosity, with many believing that women lacked the upper body strength necessary to succeed in such a demanding activity. Dragila changed that thinking forever and her numerous successors, including Elena Isinbaeva, Jennifer Suhr, Chelsea Johnson and many others, have followed her lead in taking the sport of women's pole vaulting to even greater heights.
The timing was right for Dragila to open the door for women's pole vaulting, and now it's left to be seen if the door for husband Ian to compete in the 2010 USA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, will be open or closed. With their baby girl due to be born on June 18, two days before the championships begin, it's anybody's guess!
For information on a series of pre-season pole vault, discus and shot put training camps hosted by Stacy Dragila and Ian Waltz at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., visit: altiustc.com.
Bios on Stacy Dragila and Ian Waltz are available on the USATF website: USATF.org.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit USATF.org.
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